Forest-Eyed Girl
by Covert Creator
Summary: June Harlow never expected anything extraordinary to happen in her life. She never expected to be abducted by aliens. And she definitely didn't think that she would be swept up into a life of traveling through time and space with a mysterious man called the Doctor. *First in the Forest-Eyed Girl Series*
1. The Abduction

**Hello!**

 **I'm Covert Creator, but you can call me C.C.**

 **This is my first OC insert fanfiction, so, if it's not the best, please be kind. I am always looking for Constructive Criticism, so if you have any, feel free to write a review.**

 **This series is a rewrite of "New" Doctor Who (2005- now), starting before the first episode, Rose. This story will focus on season (or Series) one with the Ninth Doctor and Rose.**

 **And even though this is a Doctor Who fanfic, the Doctor isn't in this first chapter. He's in the next. But, hopefully, I'll have the first four chapters released today because they're already all written up so you won't have to wait long to see him.**

 **Please enjoy chapter 1 of the Forest-Eyed Girl**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **The Abduction**

 **November 30th, 2017**

June Harlow spent the whole day completely oblivious to what would happen that night. She had stayed up all night playing her guitar and watching TV. She always felt a little uneasy when her roommate, Grace, was out of town, so she didn't fall asleep most nights. In the morning, she played some music over the speakers in the living room, toasted up some waffles, and made herself a cup of coffee. Her friend Logan had come over a little while later and they had played video games and watched TV for the rest of the morning. He had fallen asleep on the couch a little past noon and June had heated up frozen pancakes for lunch. June had gone on to practice a song she planned on covering until she got frustrated with her mistakes. Logan had woken up around the time she had been shoving her guitar back onto a stand in the living room while swearing loudly. They had watched TV until the Californian sky turned dusty and Logan left for home.

June walked lazily over to the fridge and looked inside, hoping that food would just be there, ready for her to eat. All she could find was a single egg, two pieces of plastic looking American cheese, and a few soda cans, one of which was already open. She sighed and shut the fridge.

So, she opened the pantry, still sort of hopeful. All that sat in the pantry was a box of crackers, a box of Oreos with one Oreo left inside, a large bag of M&Ms, which was almost empty, and a few granola bars sprinkled around the shelves. Nothing she could have for dinner. She mentally noted to go grocery shopping tomorrow.

Luckily, a fast food restaurant sat down at the end of the street her apartment building was on. So, June pulled on a pair of sneakers and shoved her wallet into the back pocket of her patched-up jeans. She took her stringy headphones and plugged them into her phone. She set a playlist to play on shuffle and shoved the phone into her front pocket. She didn't bother to look back at her apartment as she left.

Warm air clung to her skin when she stepped out into the dusk. She walked down the large, creaking staircase that led from her second-floor apartment to the ground and turned into the parking lot. She decided against taking her old, yellow hatchback, patting the hood as she walked past it. The five-minute walk couldn't hurt. So, with music playing through her headphones and no clue about what awaited in her future, June Harlow started towards the fast food restaurant.

June stopped at a crosswalk. A few people stood on the street corner, waiting for the sign to change and for the sea of cars to stop and let them walk. June could see the blazing neon lights of the fast food restaurant diagonally down the street. Her stomach grumbled.

After a moment, the walking man lit up on the sign across the street. June stepped off the sidewalk and onto the black and white striped part of the street with everyone else who had been waiting. The world around June was normal for a few last fleeting moments. She knew what to expect. Crossing the crosswalk would get her to the other side of the street. The music would keep playing through her headphones with no pause unless she paused it. She thought that her world was normal and that nothing would ever happen to her. However, the few moments of blissful ignorance faded away without her even knowing it.

June froze in the middle of the crosswalk. However, she involuntarily froze. Involuntary freezing wasn't normal. Her limbs just stopped moving. It sent a wave of panic through her body, but she couldn't shutter or squirm. The first thing June thought to do was call out to the people walking ahead of her. She attempted to move her mouth, form words, scream at them, anything, but her mouth stayed shut. So, she tried to reach for her phone, but her arm couldn't move. She tried to pry her lips away from each other, but she couldn't. Her mind raced in panic and she tried to move everything, anything she could, but not even a stray strand of her bushy hair moved in the light breeze.

Suddenly, the first sign of movement, her limbs snapped together. Her limbs snapped together _involuntarily_. She could feel her heart drop and her eyes would have widened in shock, if they could move at all. Her arms snapped to her sides. Her legs snapped together and her stomach plummeted as she was left, leaning to fall, but never did.

A bright light surrounded and engulphed her body. It felt bright and searing against her back, beating down on the loose tee-shirt and the bare skin of her arms. She couldn't see anything around her. She couldn't see where the light came from or if the cars that were just right of that crosswalk had disappeared or if they could see her frozen body. All she could see was the crosswalk disappearing or… to her horror… growing smaller. June was stuck in her mind. Her body couldn't react or display the utter panic that raced through her head. She couldn't do anything. She couldn't even spill the tears she could feel building up. And for a moment, everything was the blinding light until it was all black.

 **~*O*~**

June woke up and panic quickly overtook her body. Her arms and face felt cold like they had retained the feeling of the soft breeze she had been walking in. She felt that tears had sealed her eyes shut with crust and she had to fight to open them. Her whole body shook as anxiety rattled through her bones.

June sat in the back corner of a room. The walls and ceiling were bright white and stunningly clean. The floor was a smooth grey that almost felt slippery when she ran her hands along it. On the front wall hung an electric blue screen that almost looked like a hologram. Bright green, unrecognizable symbols decorated it. A tall metal door stood next to it. A long, rectangular window was on the back wall.

June could've sworn that her heart stopped at least for a moment when she looked outside. Outside was not the typical outside she was expecting to see. When she looked out the window, June was face to face with the Earth floating in the middle of the inky sky of space. And if she could see her home floating in space, it meant that she was floating in space. She pinched herself and winced. The images wouldn't be fading any time soon. She wasn't stuck in a dream although it felt too surreal not to be one.

"Human female specimen one?"

June shrieked and her stomach plummeted all over again. She spun to face the source of the strange gargled voice without even thinking first. She immediately wished that she hadn't.

June had always wanted to believe in things like ghosts and aliens. But she wasn't an idiot and never actually expected to get real proof of their existence. But now that she stood face to face with an alien, she didn't want them to be real. June backed against the wall. Everything in her body told her to run. But the alien still stood in front of the open door so she had no way out. Her legs shook as they tried to support her.

The alien was only about five feet tall. It had smooth, cloudy grey skin that almost looked reflective. Its head was large and its chin was so pointy that it looked like it could draw blood. Its eyes were an ice-y grey-blue and positioned on the sides of its head. It had long, sharp, almost elf-like ears that sat right next to its eyes. Its body was thin and lanky and looked like it was made from goo. Its had a long slug-like tail that seemed to leave translucent goo or slime wherever it slithered. Its arms swung lifelessly next to its body and had no hands attached at the end, they just rounded into stumps.

June did not want to move. She felt that if she even breathed too much, it would look at her with its beady eyes. She hoped that if she stood still right in the gap between its eyes, it wouldn't see her. Kind of like a dinosaur. She wondered if the alien was anything like a dinosaur.

"Human female specimen one?" it asked. June held her breath, assuming that it couldn't see her.

Its eyes shifted, gliding across the smooth skin, like a floaty in a pool. June felt sick as she watched. It couldn't be real. None of this could be real. She kept denying it although how could she deny her own vision.

The alien's eyes stopped at a normal human-like position on its head. The eyes stayed trained on June. It smiled with jagged, sharp teeth. "Human female specimen one," it said. "Confirm truth."

"What?" June muttered. Her hands attempted to grip the wall behind her, but her fingernails scraped against the slippery metal.

"You are human?" it asked.

"Yeah," June breathed. "You're an alien, aren't you?" she asked it.

It did not answer her. "You are female?"

"Obviously," she spat.

"You are healthy?" it asked.

"Yes, why do you need to know?" she asked. June sort of wanted to hit herself for willingly answering all of its questions. Although, she did wonder what would've happened if she didn't.

It turned to the blue square next to the door. Its stump of an arm stretched like goo being pulled apart. It pressed against the square, tapping it in a few different places. The bright green symbols spun and changed into some different unrecognizable symbols.

June tried her best to stay calm and stay breathing. She could feel her heart hammering so hard she was afraid that it might actually burst from her chest. She pinched her arm again and was greeted with the same, yet unbelievable results. She wasn't dreaming, yet her mind still denied the truth. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Spaceship Delta One," it said. It turned back to face her. June looked away, glancing over her shoulder out the window. She shuttered. _Spaceship_. Yep, she was definitely in space.

June reluctantly realized that she needed some more answers. The more answers she got, the sooner she could actually do something about being stuck in space. "And—"

"Name one?" it asked.

June stopped and forgot her question. "What?" she asked.

"Yours." It pointed at her with its stump arm. "Your name one." The small room went silent. June gaped at it, unsure exactly what to say. "Your name that is first," it tried to clarify.

"You want my first name? she asked. The alien nodded. "Why?"

"It is necessary," it said. "Name one?"

June simply stared at it. She didn't want to tell it anything about herself. She wanted answers and information that would get her off the ship and back home. She never thought she would see space, but even so, she never thought that if she _did_ see space that it would be from an alien spaceship. She pushed herself off of the wall, gulping at her idea. She towered over the alien and sent a silent thank you to whatever or whoever determined her height. She tried to look intimidating. She tried to _feel_ intimidating. However, the nerves and her shaking legs stopped her from feeling so confident. "Answer my questions and I will answer yours," she said.

It frowned at her. "No," it said. "No negotiation. Participate with the study."

"What study?" June asked. She attempted to try and connect the dots, but her mind was too swamped to do anything. She kept arguing with herself. _It's all real, you can't disprove what you know you're seeing! No! It's not real! Aliens can't be real! It's not logical it doesn't make sense_. She felt as if ice had taken over her veins and she wished that she could just wake up.

"No questions," it demanded. "Name one. Your name one. What is it?"

She scowled at it. "I'm not telling you!" she exclaimed, her hands curling into fists. She wasn't sure how she could yell at it.

The alien glared at her as silence settled over the room. Suddenly, a strange hissing came from the other side of the door. June pressed her body against the wall again, reflexively attempting to get far away from whatever the sound was coming from. It sounded a bit like a snake to her. Although, a snake on a spaceship didn't sound right. Unless they were abducting other animals and not just humans.

The alien's head spun clockwise away from her. Its neck twisted. It didn't even have to move its body to look right behind itself. The alien hissed back at the hissing. The hissing went back and forth for a while and June gasped. Talking. It was talking! There was more than just one alien on board. She swallowed thickly, wondering how large of a crowd must be all throughout the ship.

The alien turned its head back around and slithered closer to her. June tried to back into the wall. She hoped the it would absorb her and take her away from the advancing alien. It did not. She could smell a thick sent of some kind of curdling milk. It made her stomach twist violently. "I will come back in time with colleague," it said. "Prepare to answer questions." Then it turned and slithered out of the room. The door clicked shut behind it.

June let out a shaky breath. She slid down the wall, the floor was cold when she landed on it. Her whole body shook as she attempted to choke back a sob. None of this could be real. She hoped it wasn't.

 **~*O*~**

June's rosy cheeks were stained with tears. She wasn't sure how long it had been since the alien had left her alone. The time went by slowly and dragged on, turning minutes into hours. But June felt stuck in a normal speed. It felt like she was being held underwater. Her sobs strained her lungs so she could barely breathe. She kept trying to push the seconds and minutes and hours behind her, but she was surrounded in it, like the time was never ending and everywhere all at once.

Nothing felt real except for herself. Her shivering and shaky body felt solid, she knew for sure that it was real. And June could feel the walls and the floor but she still denied that it could all be real. Her mind still argued over fantasy and reality. The part of her mind that still denied the truth tried to convince her that she had just fallen asleep on the couch or something and that this was all a dream. And, oh, how she wanted to believe that, but she had the common sense not to.

June had attempted to find a way out. She couldn't break the window and risk being exposed to the vacuum of space, which would surely kill her. The metal door had no doorknob on the inside and she couldn't slip her fingers between it and the wall. The blue screen had sent a nasty, burning shock on her arm and into her side when she had touched it. When the realization that she was stuck in metal box of a room with no way out had hit her, a new wave of panic washed over her.

After what seemed like hours and hours, the metal door finally opened again. The same alien that had attempted to interrogate her slithered back into the room. But this time, another completely identical alien slithered into the room, close behind the first.

June's heart sank into her stomach. She backed up against the wall again, almost like it would protect her, like the few feet between her and the aliens would make a world of difference. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to take a few deep breaths. All she wanted to do was wake up.

"June Olivia Harlow." The alien mispronounced everything except for her first name. June sucked in a breath, wondering how it had found out. "True?" it asked.

"June _Olivia Harlow_ ," she corrected, looking away from the alien. All of the comfort she found pressed against the back wall disappeared as her eyes fell onto the inky skies of space. _Oh yeah. Space._ She glanced back at the aliens. _Space aliens_. "Yeah. How did you figure that out, huh?"

"Your identification pass," the second alien said. It held up its arm. The stump had formed into a small hand. And in the small hand, much to June's horror, was her driver's license.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Give that back!" She wanted to lunge for it and rip it out of the alien's grip, but she didn't want to risk getting any nearer to them.

"No," the second alien said.

The first alien turned to the blue square and began to tap on it, occasionally glancing at her driver's license. The green symbols spun and changed. The alien looked like it was typing.

The second alien kept its eyes on her while its hand was turned backwards in an uncomfortable looking position for the first alien to see. Its eyes looked dead and it just stared at her unemotionally. It sent shivers up June's spine.

After a moment, the first alien slithered back up to stand with the second. "Sit. You will answer our questions."

June frowned and, attempting to feel a little brave, she asked, "Can't you answer _my_ questions?"

"No."

She swore under her breath. Her hand shook as she ran it through her hair. Although they seemed non-threatening, she didn't want to push them. Who knows what they would do to her if she pushed them. She didn't know the first thing about these aliens. She didn't know what they had hidden up their sleeves. "Sit where?" she asked.

"The ground." The first alien pointed at the floor.

June gritted her teeth and slid down to the floor, still keeping her back against the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared warily up at the aliens. "What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

The two aliens slithered in front of her. They both froze and went completely ridged. Not a muscle in their bodies seemed to move until, almost like they were in synch, their tails changed shapes. They formed into large pillows under the aliens' upper bodies. They looked like they were sitting on top of giant beanbags.

"We will study you," the first alien said. "You will answer our questions about human life."

"And then we will move on to dissection." The second one grinned wickedly at her.

June's breath caught in her throat and it felt hard to breathe. She wanted to back away from them further, but the wall stopped her in place. Dissections had made her sick in school. She had stood as far away from her group as possible and read off directions for them. Her face had been pale and green and she had constantly felt on the edge of throwing up. She remembered the way her lab partners' scalpels and knives had cut through the fleshes of the rat and the frog they had dissected. She couldn't stop herself from imagining the aliens dissecting her, stump arms wrapped around large knives that plunged into her stomach and ripped through her flesh. She felt sick to her stomach. She would be dead and her body destroyed if she didn't do anything.

"No dissections," she argued. Her eyes flickered to her license in the second alien's ' _hand_.' "And give me back my stuff!"

"Describe your habitat," the first alien ordered.

June decidedly stayed silent. Not answering their questions pushed away the dissection and gave her more time to collect herself and figure a way out.

"Answer," it demanded.

June wondered if she could piss the aliens off to the point where they would just let her go. It was a stupid thought and she knew that it was, but she had to hold on to some hope somehow. "You can't just abduct me and expect me to play along," she said.

The two aliens exchanged emotionless looks. "The last one did," the second alien said.

June's mouth went dry. She sat up a little straighter. There had been someone else trapped like her. "The _last_ one?" she asked. "What happened to them?" She wondered if they had just dropped the last person they had abducted back off at their home of if they had… she couldn't think about it. She did wonder if they had managed to escape though. If someone else had managed to escape, then couldn't she? "Tell me!"

The aliens began to talk in hushed hisses, occasionally glancing at the brunette. June slumped against the wall and picked at one of the callouses on her finger. She wondered what they were saying. If only she could understand whatever language they were talking in. But, how did they know English in the first place?

"We will tell you about the first human after you answer our questions," the first alien said, finally breaking the silence.

June frowned. No, she didn't want it to work out that way. She could just assume the worst and guess that it was the truth. The first human they had abducted was probably long gone. But she, she wasn't long gone. June still sat there, scared and anxious, but still perfectly alive. She could find a way out.

She avoided looking at the aliens because the longer she did the more uncomfortable she felt. Their dead eyes still stayed trained on her. June looked somewhere behind them to avoid catching their eyes and tried to think. And that's when she saw it: the wide-open door. They three of them were pushed all the way in the back corner of the room and if June could just walk around them, she could just run. She almost laughed at the thought of it being that easy. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go for it. There didn't seem to be any other aliens outside the door. And, how fast could the slithering aliens be? If she made it out of her small prison, she could maybe, hopefully, find a way back home. She knew she had to try.

June shakily smiled at the aliens. "Let me—" she pushed herself onto her feet and walked carefully around the two aliens. "—consider it." Her stomach dropped a bit as their heads turned to watch her. She pretended to pace around the room, taping her chin, humming, and occasionally glancing at the dead-eyed aliens. Their heads were both still completely backwards on their bodies and they both stood frozen and ridged as their tails transformed back into their natural state.

June held up her index finger. "Well—" she began. And before they could finish transforming, she darted out of the open door.

June felt like her legs had just morphed into a blur as she sprinted down the nearest hallway. Sure, she could run fast, but she had never run so fast before in her life. She was sort of afraid that her legs would end up just leaving her body behind.

A loud alarm wailed throughout the ship as she ran from empty hallway to empty hallway. She glanced behind her, but no one was following her.

June turned down another hallway and froze. A group of at least six of the aliens, all completely identical as the two she had talked to, stood in the hallway. Thankfully, their backs were towards her and they were all completely ridged and frozen as their tails morphed. An open door glowing with inviting golden light stood in between her and the aliens. June stopped breathing even though her lungs screamed for air.

The aliens soon became towers on tall, muscular legs. June ducked into the open door as they turned in her direction and ran off. She could hear the loud stomping going down the hallway she had just come from. She found herself laughing and grinning in relief.

June glanced over her shoulder before she left. The room seemed to be some sort of science lab. And on a small table in the middle of the room, much to her surprise, sat her things. Without a second thought, she ran over to the table. She picked up her wallet and took a moment to open it. Nothing else but her driver's license was missing. And her stringy headphones were still attached to her cell phone which could still display her bright yellow lock screen when she turned it on. Although, the time and date read random numbers and letters. She was thankful that everything had survived the trip and shoved everything into their respective pockets and left the room.

But, the second she stepped out of the room, she was surrounded by aliens that more looked like towers with faces. She swore to herself. The large group of identical aliens towered over her, their faces clouded by shadow in the dimly lit hallway. She could only see their sharp, bright white maniacal grins and the faint shapes of muscular arms reaching for her.

June immediately forced herself to crash onto her shins and knees. The aliens overhead bumped into each other and staggered around. She took the opportunity to shove her way through a small gap between the legs of two aliens. She sprinted down the nearest hallway, hoping and praying that she had left them in the dust.

She took a turn and the large group of aliens took that turn too. She ran as fast as she physically could and the large group of aliens just chased after her. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see how far away they were. The more and more June got tired and slowed, the closer and faster they seemed to get, like they were feeding off her energy.

June took another sharp turn. She was greeted by a row of small, almost porthole looking windows pressed into a wall. They all had large handles that seemed to be inviting her to open them. She would have let out a sigh of relief if she had any breath left. She wasted no time running and yanking on one of the handles. The small circular window it was attached to swung open.

She jumped into what seemed like a small shuttle and pulled the glass door shut behind her. The circular room was barely big enough for her to sit in. Her head almost hit the ceiling and her legs had to stay folded against her body. The floor was made from some sort of stiff navy cushioning. One of the walls had a control panel on it. All the buttons seemed to curve with the wall. Another button sat next to the window. She pressed it. There was click. She didn't care about where she was, she only cared about how angry the aliens looked and how they couldn't get to her.

One of the aliens, maybe the first one she had talked to, either way it seemed like it was the alien in charge, had its stump arm wrapped around the handle and was struggling with it. "Human female specimen one, come out of that escape pod!" it ordered. No matter how hard it pulled, the circular glass door wouldn't open.

June stopped and almost smiled. _Escape pod._ Which meant, _escape!_ If she could detach the escape pod from the ship, maybe, if she was so lucky, and she had been lucky so far, she would just fall down to Earth. As long as she landed on some continent, some form of land, she could get home.

She turned to the control panel. "Human, no!" the alien on the other side of the glass roared. All of the buttons inside glowed invitingly. She didn't know exactly what to press, so June pressed her whole palm against the panel.

The sound of a suction popped in her ear and the escape pod detached from the ship. June laughed delightedly. Everything was going her way! The aliens kept getting smaller and smaller as she floated further and further away. June got to get a better look at the ship. She gaped and laughed as it was a proper flying saucer, just with circular escape pods sticking off of one side.

June could just barely see the Earth in the corner of the window. She wondered why it wasn't coming any closer into view. Her stomach suddenly dropped. It was definitely not getting closer but getting farther away. Her heart, which thought that it had a bit of a break, began to hammer in her chest. June turned and hit the control panel again. "Earth!" she shouted at it, as if it could hear her. "I want Earth! Home!"

The escape pod went into what seemed to be hyper speed. June's body flew and became plastered against the back wall as the escape pod propelled forward, away from the Earth. She could almost feel her skin being ripped off of her body. She couldn't breathe, she wanted to breathe, she begged to be able to breathe, but no matter what, couldn't. Black circled her vision, taking away the last ability she had left. All she could do was stare at the grey wall in front of her, mentally screaming because she had no voice to scream with, as the black closed in and took her vision away, with no clue where she was going before everything just stopped.

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 **That was chapter 1!**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read my story.**

 **Reviews and follows are appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	2. The Planet

**Hi again!**

 **It's C.C. back with the second chapter of Forest-Eyed Girl**

 **This chapter actually has the Doctor in it! Yay!**

 **I don't have anything else to say, so I'll just start the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **The Planet**

June woke up in a pile of smoking wreckage. The escape pod seemed to have exploded around her. Her skin was cut, bleeding, and bruised. Her hair was matted and ripped. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her body. Though, as tired as she felt, she forced herself to sit up.

Her memories hit all at once. The abduction, the aliens, the threat of dissection, the running and the dark, reaching arms, the dive into the escape pod, the feeling of losing all of her senses just before everything turned black and stopped. Her body heaved and she could feel herself crying yet was too tired to actually feel anything.

June went for the only things that felt familiar. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and immediately cut her finger. She winced as the cut spread and she began to bleed. She sucked on the new wound and looked at the screen. Her stomach dropped at the sight of it. It was completely shattered. Glass fell out everywhere into her lap. She could see some of the inner workings of the phone. And the stringy headphones were gone. They had snapped and left the end still plugged into the headphone jack, but the rest was gone. June sighed and wondered how expensive it would be to replace it. She cleaned the broken glass off the screen and put the phone back in her pocket.

Her wallet was still surprisingly still intact. It was a bit torn up, but she had had it for a long time anyway. Nothing else went missing in the crash. She would have to replace her driver's license, but that was all. It brought a bit of positivity to the situation after discovering her worse than useless phone.

Shoving her wallet back in her pocket, June focused on finding out where she was. The first thing she noticed about her surroundings, she couldn't _not_ notice it, was the ground, or, the mud. The ground was just mud. It felt horrible and sticky between her fingers and against her legs. And although she hated mud and wanted to get off of it, she didn't feel ready to stand. She felt too defeated to stand. If she stood, she was afraid that she would crumble.

Straight ahead of where June sat was a sea of mud. It looked never ending. But, when she looked right, June gasped. There was a city off in the distance. It seemed to be made up of gleaming silver spires and oddly curved buildings. It stood only a short walk away. A longer walk than the one to the fast food restaurant her stomach reminded her of by grumbling, but still a manageable walk away.

When she looked to the sky, she saw a large, glass dome towering over her and by extent, the city in the distance. Three small suns, that looked more like large stars than suns, shone down on the planet. The light was a bit dimmer than the light on Earth. It looked like a cloudy day with no clouds.

June forced herself to stand up. She knew that she would have to go to the city to have a chance of getting home. She took one more glance back at the wreckage of the escape pod and then started through the mud. Her feet sunk through the ground as she walked, squishing and sticking. She hated it. She just wanted her bed. She just wanted all of this to be a nightmare. Wanting it to be a dream kept reminding her that it wasn't. It was all really happening. She wondered how this could have happened to her as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wondered if she would ever make it home.

The city didn't have any streets, but it didn't have any mud either. June stepped, mud flinging around her ruined shoes, onto a smooth stone ground. It looked like marble and shone like gem stones. It was so smooth she could have slipped, but her mud-covered shoes helped her stick. They helped her stick a little _too_ much.

There were buildings that sat like buildings on Earth did. They all lined up next to each other on either side of a non-existent street. Every single building seemed to be curved instead of square. Most of them just looked like beans with legs. The occasional tower she would see would just be a long round tube. And every single building looked like it was made out of chrome. June's reflection against the buildings looked so distorted that she couldn't tell her normal appearance from mud. And everything was eerily empty. Not abandoned, just empty.

June knew that she would have been ecstatic to see an alien city on an alien planet if she hadn't just crash landed after being abducted by aliens. Another city, another sky, which seemed to be more violet colored than blue. Alien space mud had gotten all in her shoes and socks. But she wanted to be home. She missed her bed and her small California apartment. She missed her friends and family. She missed her sun and not the weird trio of smaller suns which surrounded the alien planet she found herself on.

She turned a corner around a weirdly curved building, her shoes sticking to the ground because of the mud caked onto the soles. She stopped when she saw something familiar to Time's Square. Huge chrome spires and business buildings, all with screens or projections plastered onto them. But what shocked her the absolute most was the sight of her own face. The picture from her driver's license was plastered on every building in the square. Green symbols were written under each picture of her. Loud hissing filled the air.

The crowd assembled in the middle of the square was alien—like she had been expecting. But these aliens were completely identical to the aliens she had been abducted by. She quickly understood what had happened. June had crash landed on the aliens' home planet, whatever and wherever that was. And the projections of her own face were wanted posters.

June did the only thing she could do in that situation. She abandoned her shoes and socks so she wouldn't leave any muddy footprints or get stuck to the ground and ran in the opposite direction. She didn't turn back the way she came. If these aliens were looking for her, the best thing she could do was avoid the escape pod and leave no prints to where she had been. She ran down another empty street, thankful for the smooth ground as her feet didn't ache and hoped that she could find a place to hide.

Her face popped up on each building she ran by. The aliens were plastering her face everywhere. _Find the escaped human science experiment_. Her face would soon be everywhere. It would alarm one of those aliens to casually see a human walking around in their city, but if they recognized her as the human from the wanted posters, June would stand no chance. Running had been the thing that worked last time. She would just have to be smarter this time.

June ran out into a seemingly empty lot. There were no buildings, just the smooth stone ground. The stone ground stopped dead a few feet ahead and she thought about wandering through the mud. It would feel terrible, but it might be harder for the aliens to find her. And maybe there was another city or better yet, another alien close by that didn't know her. Maybe trekking through the mud was what she had to do to find some help.

And then June tripped. Her body slammed onto the ground. The wind was knocked out of her lungs, but she couldn't just stay down while she was on the run from aliens. She sat up and looked back near her bare foot. She had tripped over a handle that stuck out of the ground. She quickly scanned her surroundings. There were similar handles sticking out of the ground spread out around the empty lot.

June looked back at the city. The reflection of a crowd of those aliens headed her way curved against the wall of a chrome building. She looked back at the wilderness. The mud. There was nothing but mud. No trees, no water, no nothing, just mud and the edge of the large glass dome. She couldn't hide in the mud with the aliens just about to turn the corner.

She turned to the handle she had tripped over. Empty lot, back of the city, maybe the aliens didn't come back around here a lot. So, June pulled the handle up. It didn't budge. She hopped over to the other side of it and pulled. She pulled until she managed to fully open a small, square door in the ground. It was all completely dark inside, anything could be lurking and waiting but she knew that it was her best chance to hide. So, she slid into the small open door.

The fall wasn't far and she landed easily on her feet. She could only see a bit of the space around her. The walls and floor were grey. The door wasn't that far above her head. She could still reach it. And on the wall next to her, there were two buttons.

June felt for a handle on the inside of the door. She hooked her hands around it and shut the door again, plunging herself into darkness. She slammed her hand against the two buttons on the wall. There was a click from above her and the lights turned on. The lights seemed to be embedded into the ceiling and she couldn't tell where they were coming from.

June stood at the end of a hallway. Right across from her was a door with a giant metal wheel in the center of it. She rubbed her arms with her hands to warm them from the cold breeze that seemed to flow around the room. It was cold, but it wasn't anything she couldn't deal with.

She reached up to the trap door's handle again and lightly tugged on it, attempting to open the door so she could peek up and see if anyone or anything had managed to track her. The door jiggled but stayed put. Locked.

June made a quick, small plan in her head. She studied the two identical buttons for a moment. She couldn't tell which one was for the lock and which one was for the lights. She experimentally pressed one. The lights snapped off. June smiled at the small success. She very slowly began to make her way to the other side of the hallway.

She didn't know how much time had passed before her hands met the wheel knob of the door, but she only cared that she had made it across without any alarms going off. She turned the wheel and pulled the metal door open. She slipped into another dark room and pulled the door shut behind her. She felt around the wall on one side of the door and when she didn't find any buttons, she felt around on the other side of the door. The second her hand ran over two small buttons, she pressed both of them. There was a click from the door and the lights flickered on.

Boxes. The room was filled with boxes. Boxes, more specifically wooden crates, lined up like aisles though the seemingly endless room. Boxes hovered on top of boxes without any shelves to hold them. They were just levitating. It reminded June of one of those basements in a furniture store, just without the shelves. She was in a storage room.

June knew that it was the best she was going to get. She had nowhere else to go especially with aliens coming after her. She could hide behind the boxes if anyone came searching and maybe she could break a few of them open and find some useful things inside. So, she decided to camp out near the door. She decided to leave the lights on just so she could see everything around her, but if she sat close enough to the door, she could see the hallway light come on from under the crack of the door. Then, she could run to turn the lights off and hide. Simple enough.

June settled on a spot next to the nearest wooden crate. She sunk down to the floor and let her head rest against the crate for a moment. God, she felt tired. Exhaustion weighed on her, but she doubted that she could ever go to sleep. So, she began the process of fixing herself up. She had a large series of cuts on her stomach, probably from the crash. Her arms and legs were all cut up and were mostly covered in dry blood. She pressed her shirt against any cuts that still bled.

She combed her fingers through her hair. Her bushy hair was caked with mud and escape pod debris. She had to keep reminding herself that she would be able to find a way off of the alien planet, she just had to think of a way how. Maybe she could hijack a spaceship. Maybe she could befriend an alien who could take her home. Although she could feel tears rising, she forced herself to keep thinking optimistic.

After she had wrestled her hair into some kind of normal state, June tried to open one of the wooden crates. She pried at the wooden lid of the box she sat next to, but it didn't budge. She pulled and pushed and tried everything she could to get it open. It seemed completely stuck. She tried to look between the cracks in the wood but she couldn't see anything.

June slumped against the ground again and just sat there for a while, thinking and letting herself cry silently. Her stomach felt like it had been carved out and her hunger had quickly turned into nausea. She had a small headache and no medicine. But mostly, she felt exhausted. Completely exhausted but how could she try to sleep?

She just sat there, looking at the door, letting her mind wander. She hummed _Hey Jude_ to herself and kept trying to think about what she could do next. She knew that she couldn't go back to the escape pod and she didn't know where or how she would find another one. And if she went outside, she would surely be captured.

She ended up thinking about home. She missed her apartment and her roommate, Grace. She would always come home with a story to tell June about work or about something. She missed her other friend, Logan. He was always joking around, poking and teasing. She missed her parents and her sister. Her parents were as sweet as sugar and her sister was like spice. She never had to miss them before, she had always been close to home.

Her parents' house was a tri-level and the third and lowest floor still had the dark curtain hung up near the staircase. That curtain had sort of acted like a door because June had taken over the whole floor after her noisy sister had been born. She missed the days of sitting next to the pool and playing with her sister. One time, a time that felt so long ago, her biggest worry was being caught in the pool in the middle of the night. Her biggest worry couldn't be as simple as that anymore.

And they lived close to Disneyland. She had worked there for a few years during college. She knew the place like the back of her hand and found herself missing it just as much as everything else. Going there felt like stepping into a dream, especially while she was growing up. And if going to Disneyland felt like stepping into a very vivid dream, then being on an alien planet felt like insanity.

The crack under the metal door lit up. June jumped when she saw it. Someone had gone down into the hallway, way too close for comfort. June quickly shot up, turned off the store room lights, and ran blindly down an aisle of boxes.

The door creaked open a moment later. June winced and ducked down behind one of the wooden crates. Suddenly, the lights flickered on. Then, a voice broke through the tense silence. "Hello?"

The voice did not belong to one of those aliens. It was a man's voice. A British man's voice. "I know you're down here," the voice said. June tensed and tried to sink down lower. "You can come out. I'm not going to hurt you."

June took a deep breath and decided to take a peek over the top of the box. Just on the other side of the room, June spotted a man. She was just close enough to see him well. He was tall, had dark cropped hair, and wore a large leather jacket. He leaned against the box she had been ' _camping out_ ' behind. But the thing that struck June the most about him was the fact that he looked human. But June knew that if humans could travel to other planets, it wouldn't be a secret, so he couldn't be human.

"I'm going to take you home," the man said. He took a moment to scan his surroundings. June ducked behind the box again and stayed put. "I promise, I will. But I can't take you home if you don't come out."

June thought about it for a moment. A human looking man had said that he would bring her home. She didn't have any bad feeling nagging at her but she still didn't trust him. June had no idea how she would be able to get home by herself, so, she had to take the chance. Things had already gone so wrong that she wondered how bad they could possibly get? With a deep breath, June stood up and walked out from behind the box.

The man smiled when June walked up to him. "There you are," he said. "Knew you were down here."

June frowned and shook her head. "How though?" she asked. "How'd you find me?"

"I was just minding my own business when an escape pod almost crashed into my ship," he said, crossing his arms. "And my ship picked up on the life signals coming from that escape pod. And to my surprise, the life sign was human." He gestured to her. "Humans aren't supposed to be flying through deep space in an escape pod in 2017. So, I got curious and tracked where you landed. You know you've got a whole city of Silgols looking for you? I don't know what you did to make them so frantic, but I thought I'd take you home before they got to you."

"Silgols?" June asked. "That's what the aliens are called?"

"Yep."

June nodded. The name fit the aliens, sort of. She glanced up at the man. She could just tell that he was a little odd. "Who are you?" she asked after a moment.

"I'm the Doctor," he told her.

"Doctor who?" June asked.

He laughed a bit. "Just the Doctor," he said. "What about you?" June narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't know whether to trust him or not. Who had a name like _The Doctor_ anyway? "I am the one taking you home, I think I should know your name," he said.

June sighed. He made a good point. "June Harlow," she told him.

"June Harlow," he repeated absentmindedly. He pulled something out of his jacket. It was a small silver thing with a blue bit at the top. It looked like a tool of some sort. The Doctor pointed it at the wooden crate and the tool started to buzz. A moment later, he pulled the lid off of the wooden crate and reached inside. He pulled out an aluminum can of something. "How did you get here, June Harlow?" he asked.

June leaned over the side of the crate and looked inside. The box was filled with cans. "I was abducted," she told him. She reached for a can. It had a green label printed on it with a drawing of some sort of alien fruit. She looked at the Doctor. "Are you an alien?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am," he said. June frowned at him because he didn't really look like an alien. "Don't worry, most of us don't go around abducting people." June found herself snickering a bit. The Doctor opened up the aluminum can and began to eat what looked like pink orange slices. June furrowed her eyebrows and wondered what kind of alien fruit it was. "Spatium Persica," the Doctor said. June tilted her head. "Space peaches," he explained. He held a slice out to her. "Want one?"

June narrowed her eyes and reached for the slice of space fruit. "This won't poison me, will it?" she asked.

"Why would it?" he asked with a lopsided smile. "It's just fruit."

June held the slice of space fruit in her hand. Normally, she wouldn't trust so easily, but she was hungry. So, she popped the space peach into her mouth. It tasted like a peach flavored candy mixed with an orange flavored candy. June had never tasted something so uniquely good.

"Pretty good, yeah?" the Doctor asked, smiling at her. June nodded. He took a can from the box and tossed it to her. "There. You're probably hungry."

June laughed a bit. "I haven't eaten in—" she stopped. She didn't know how long she had been gone from Earth. Time didn't feel real on alien planets.

"Don't worry," he said, interrupting June's thoughts. "You'll be home soon."

"Promise?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled. "I promise."

June opened the can of space peaches. Much to her delight, it opened just like a normal can. She quickly began to eat. "Alright," she said after her first few slices. She felt much more relaxed and even a little confident. "Let's go. The sooner the better." The Doctor grinned at her.

They both left the storage room and ventured towards the outside alien world. The second June stepped out into daylight, she felt tense. The city was no longer empty. Crowds of aliens—Silgols—walked from building to building. If they ventured any farther into the city, they would see her.

"My ship is parked next to where you crashed," the Doctor said. "It's a bit of a walk, but I know how we can get around them."

"How?" June asked. "They're everywhere."

The Doctor walked across the lot full of handles, June following him, unsure of what exactly he was thinking. They stopped at the edge of the smooth stone floor. A sea of mud lay out in front of them. "Hope you don't mind a walk in the mud," he said.

June grimaced. "How do we get around them if we walk in the mud?" she asked as she bit into another slice of space peach. She was sure that the aliens had gotten through and around the mud before.

"They can't move well in this," the Doctor explained. "They need smooth surfaces, especially when they're in their natural forms. Slithering and mud don't go together well." Without a second thought, he stepped into the mud.

"But I'm barefoot," June said.

The Doctor stopped and looked back at her. He glanced down at her feet, then looked back up at her. "Why?"

"I didn't want to leave tracks," she told him.

He laughed a bit. "Of course, you didn't."

"What's wrong with that?" June asked.

"Nothing," he said. "It's a bit clever actually. But you're going to have to walk through the mud if you want to get home without getting caught." June frowned at him. "Do you just want me to leave you here to be spotted, then?" he asked.

"No." June sighed and stepped into the mud, cringing at the feeling.

The walk through the mud was difficult, but manageable enough. June felt more disgusting with each step she took. And she kept wobbling and almost tipping over, leading her to keep grabbing onto the Doctor's jacket sleeve for support.

June was never the best at small talk, but she tried her best to keep conversation with the man. "Are you sure they won't just come out in the mud to get us?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, June, I'm sure. It's too difficult for them to move through the mud."

"Okay, but they can clearly manage it," she argued. He frowned at her. "They built all that." She gestured to the city they were walking behind. "That had to be just a mountain of mud at first."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, nodding slightly. "But it took them a long time. They're much faster in the city, so they don't really try to slither through the mud anymore."

June shrugged. "Alright." She bit into another space peach. "What kind of alien are you?" she asked. She was curious because he looked human, but still claimed that he wasn't. What kind of alien looked completely human, but wasn't?

The Doctor looked away from her, any amusement that he had worn slipping from his face. "One of the good ones," he said.

June chuckled a bit. "That's not the answer I was looking for, but _okay_." She knew that it wasn't such a great idea to push and bother the person who was offering to take her home. "So, what was that thing you used to open the crate."

That made the Doctor grin again. He pulled the small device out of his pocket and showed it to her. Small, sliver, blue tip, two buttons on the side. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before. "It's called a Sonic Screwdriver," he told her. "It can do just about anything." He slipped it back into his pocket.

June nodded. "Okay." She wasn't sure how else to react to that. She took a deep breath. " _God_." She shook her head and tried to process everything that had happened around her. Aliens, alien planets, a man with an odd name who looked human but claimed that he wasn't, a screwdriver that didn't look like a screwdriver and apparently did just about everything. She felt slightly dizzy with everything rattling around in her head. She almost laughed at the insanity.

"It's a lot to take in in one day," the Doctor said. June frowned at him. "I can see it on your face," he answered without the question even being asked. June wondered what exactly on her face made it obvious. "If it means anything, you're taking it well," he told her. She nodded faintly. How could anyone take a situation like hers well? "As soon as you're back home, you won't have to worry about any of this any longer."

June at another slice of space peach. The can was almost empty. She wondered if she would ever be able to stop thinking about space and other planets. She had only seen one alien planet and two different types of aliens (if the Doctor actually _was_ an alien). How much more was there to see?

They rounded a corner and walked in silence. June sadly finished her can of space peaches and shoved it into her pocket. She started to realize that they were headed closer to the chrome buildings. She hadn't much thought about where they were going, she just blindly followed the Doctor, not a smart move at all. And now, they were just walking up to the city again. June felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought, but if the Doctor knew about her unease, it seemed like he didn't care.

They approached a thin, dark alleyway between two large, looming towers. June stopped just before the mud became marble. As much as she hated walking through the mud, she didn't want to go back into the city. The Silgols were still after her and she didn't want to risk going any closer.

The Doctor glanced back at her, like he only _just_ noticed that she wasn't following him. "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

June almost laughed. She shook her head. "No," she said. "They're after me, I'm not going back there."

The Doctor sighed. "We have to cross _one_ street to get back to my ship," he said. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "Come here," he said, gesturing June over to him.

"You said that we didn't have to walk through the city," June reminded him.

"We just have to cross one street," he said. "Walking around the perimeter of the city would take hours. We _have_ to go this way." June frowned at him, still feeling uneasy. "Come here. Let me show you." She still didn't want to step onto the marble. "They won't see us here, don't worry." He tried his best to give her an unnerving smile.

June knew that she would worry regardless of the Doctor's words. She took a deep breath and took a shaky step onto the marble floor anyway. She joined the Doctor at the entrance of the thin alleyway. The Doctor pointed at a small, dark crack between two buildings across the street. "We slip through there and it's a straight walk back to your crash site and my ship. It's all mud. They won't notice us if we're quick."

She frowned at him. But, the Doctor smiled and before she could protest, he sprinted out from the alleyway. June didn't have much of a choice but to sprint after him. She felt completely exposed out on the street in the middle of the city. All of the Silgols on the marble street around them stopped when they noticed June. They all froze, their legs slowly morphing. June pushed herself to run faster.

She felt slightly sick as she ran. It felt like such a long way to run. Her legs felt like they were a blur of speed, but the alleyway she and the Doctor aimed to run for barely inched closer. The marble began to shake under her feet and June became distracted again. All the Silgols on the street had grown massive, towering legs and were stomping towards them. Upon noticing that the girl had slowed, the Doctor grabbed June's arm and pulled her along after him.

The light dimmed and the Doctor stopped at the end of the alleyway. June's feet didn't get much of a chance to slow before stopping, so she stumbled and began to trip. She expected to fall into the cold, mush of mud, but instead she fell against a cold wall. She immediately stood up in alarm and stumbled backwards.

She struggled to catch her breath as she looked at the smooth, grey wall. "I thought—" she began but stopped and gasped for air.

"Yeah, so did I," the Doctor said, staring at the wall in confusion.

Another layer of darkness washed over the alleyway. They both turned and saw that another wall had blocked the entrance to the alleyway. "What?" the Doctor wondered aloud as June groaned in annoyance. Whenever she thought she had a way home, something always got in the way. She had just wanted to get some fast food, that was it.

The wall moved ever so slightly and leagues of Silgols with long, towering legs swarmed into the alleyway. June turned to the Doctor. "You said—"

"I didn't expect them to be prepared," he said. June scoffed and shook her head. She couldn't believe that this was happening. "Sorry," he muttered. June wanted to be angry with him, but she didn't have the time nor the energy to be. Besides that, there were other bigger things to worry about in the moment. June prepared to scream and kick and fight against being taken by the aliens, but she never got the chance. Everything went black again. She probably should have expected it to.

* * *

 **That was the second chapter!**

 **Tell me what you guys think so far.**

 **Reviews and follows are appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	3. The Escape

**Hello!**

 **It's C.C. back again to bring you the third chapter of the Forest-Eyed Girl**

 **Please enjoy**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Escape**

The room June woke up in was almost identical to the one in the spaceship. It only differed by the fact that it was much bigger and that the sight outside of the window was not Earth in space, but an ocean of mud. She was still on the alien planet, completely alone and without any of her things. She had no clue where the Doctor could be and he was her only way home. June was out of luck.

June wasn't going to let herself be hopeless. She would break out of the room, find her things, find the Doctor, and finally get home. Getting so close and being ' _arrested_ ' by the Silgols only seemed to make her more determined to get home.

She paced around the room and wondered about a way out. She knew that breaking the window would break a few of her fingers or her foot and she knew that she would need full function of her limbs to actually escape. When she went to inspect the door, there was no doorknob on the inside just like there hadn't been one on the spaceship.

June kicked the door and then wandered to the back of the room, grumbling to herself in frustration. She leaned against the window and stared at the door. If she was going to get out, she had to get that door open, and for that, she would have to go right to the source. "Let me out of here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping that an alien would hear her. She paused for a moment, but there was no reply. "Let me out, ya shitheads!" she yelled after a moment. She continued to yell, pause, and yell again until she heard hissing on the other side of the door.

The door slid open and a Silgol stood in the doorway, up on tall legs, legs not as tall as the towers the ones outside had grown. It only seemed to be a bit taller than her, about 5'10-5'11 to her 5'9. The way out was just behind it. "Human," it said. "Spaceship Delta one has arrived. You will be studied as planned. I will escort you to the ship."

June just had to get past it. "Not if I have anything to say about it." She lunged into a runner's stance, and then sprinted across the room. She used her whole body to ram into the alien and send it, flying, into the wall. Its tall legs sprang back into their normal tail form at the impact.

The alien cried in protest as June grabbed its stump arm and shoved it into her cell. Thankfully, there was a handle on the outside of the door and she was able to close it, trapping the alien inside. It hissed and wailed, but June ignored it. She took a second to catch her breath, and then cheered silently to herself. She wanted to give herself a pat on the back. She couldn't believe that she had just done that. People didn't usually get the chance to rush an alien and trap it in an alien jailcell.

Now, June had to focus on her next task: finding her stuff and the Doctor. He was her only way home and a bit more trustworthy now that she knew that the Silgols weren't fond of him either. So, she ran down the hallway of identical cell doors. She followed the hallways, taking turns and climbing up ramps, avoiding all the dead ends she turned into.

Eventually she stepped out into a large, empty room. A ramp angled upwards was the only way to go. The ramp wasn't as small as the ones she had been able to jump up and over. This ramp was huge, more like a hill than anything. June did the only thing she could, she ran for it. The ramp was slippery, but after a few minutes of struggling, June managed to scramble her way up it and onto another marble floor.

She stood in some sort of entrance hall. A large archway was cut into the front wall as a front door into the building. There were two small archways on either side of the hallway which seemingly led to even more hallways. And an identical archway like the one she had just passed under stood on the back wall next to her. However, in between her and it was a front desk. And pressed against the wall behind the front desk was a terrified Silgol.

June quickly realized: the Silgol was terrified of _her_. As much as it made her feel like a hypocrite, she knew that she could use this to her advantage. She rounded to the front of the desk and slammed her hands down on the marble countertop. The thud made the Silgol shutter. "Hey!" she pointed directly at it. The Silgol froze. "Where's my friend and where's my stuff!?" The Silgol didn't answer. It shivered and stared at her, wide eyed. It seemed like it wanted to shrink away. June understood the feeling. "I said, where's my stuff and where's my friend?!" It pointed to the front desk. June frowned and looked over the counter.

A tray sat on the desk below her. The tray held her broken phone, its several shards of glass, and her wallet. But also, the silver and blue device—the screwdriver—the Doctor had used, a bronze key, and several empty cans of Space Peaches. June grabbed everything, assuming that it was all either hers or the Doctor's stuff. She reluctantly left behind the cans of Space Peaches even though she thought that they would make a cool keepsake. She just couldn't carry them. She shoved everything else into her various jean pockets.

"Now," June looked back up at the Silgol. It quivered under her look. She felt a small pang of guilt in her stomach but forced herself to ignore it. She had to get home. "Where's the Doctor?" she demanded. "The man I was walking with, where is he?" The Silgol shakily pointed towards the archway, the one opposite yet identical to the one June had come from. June smiled at the alien. "Thanks, you've been a great help!" She bolted around the desk and towards the second archway.

She had to slide down another, large, hill-like ramp before she was let into a much larger, confusing, set of hallways. The first few hallways seemed to contain offices and such, but after a few smaller ramps and turns, she stumbled upon what looked like cells.

June stopped at the end of one hallway and shouted, "Doctor?" Hisses, growls, and even some thuds replied. June went from hallway to hallway, calling for the Doctor. She just kept getting hisses, thuds, screams, and scratches as answers.

She slid down another ramp and leaned against the opening to the next dead-end hallway. She didn't expect any answer when she called out, "Doctor?"

"June?" A familiar voice called back, muffled by a metal door.

June let out a sigh of relief and ran towards his cell. She would get home after all. Well, as long as she could break the Doctor out of his cell and they both managed to escape. She felt optimistic about it. "I'm getting you out!" she shouted to him. She pulled at the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge. "It's locked."

"Yeah, cell doors usually are," the Doctor said.

June breathed a little laugh at his sarcasm and tried to pull the door open again with no success. "How do I get you out?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment. "I don't know," he said. "I could get out if I had my Sonic Screwdriver, but they took it from me."

June stopped. The screwdriver thing. She gasped. "I have it!" she exclaimed, pulling it from her pocket.

"You do?" he asked.

"Mhm," she hummed, nodding. "They had all our stuff on a tray behind the front desk. Terrified Silgol didn't mind handing it over." She looked at the screwdriver thing. I still didn't look like a screwdriver and it sure didn't look like it could unlock a door. "So, how do I get you out?" she asked.

He quickly explained how to use the sonic screwdriver, which just boiled down to _point and press the button_. Simple enough for June to follow. She pointed the blue end at the handle, pressed the top most button on the silver handle, and the screwdriver buzzed. A click rang out from the door. June grinned and finally opened the door.

The Doctor stood in the doorway with a large grin on his face. "You did it," he said.

June shrugged. "Yeah, it was nothing." She laughed and handed over the odd screwdriver.

"How'd you get out in the first place?" the Doctor asked. "They told me they were going to put you back on that ship for examining and such."

"Oh, I just rushed the Silgol who came to get me and ran." She shrugged.

"You what?" he asked.

"Ran into him and pushed him over," she said.

"That's tackling."

"No, tackling is a bit different. Which is why I used 'rush' instead." June stopped. She shook her head. "Okay, but we shouldn't focus on that. You said you could take me home. So, take me home."

"They put the TARDIS into storage," the Doctor told her. "They have her somewhere in the basement. Said they have to process it or something. But they took my key. Nothing can get into the TARDIS without a key."

June dug in her pocket again. She pulled out the little bronze key that had been in the tray. "Is this it?" she asked.

The Doctor gaped at her for a moment, grinned, and then took it from her. "Fantastic."

"Is your ship really called the TARDIS?" June asked.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "Why?"

"Weird name," June muttered.

"Oi! It's a great name!" the Doctor argued. "And it's the only ship that's going to help get you home, so don't insult it." June frowned at him. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

After a few turns and climbs and a large trek up the large slippery ramp, they made it into the entrance hall again. The Silgol still stood terrified, quivering behind the front desk. The Doctor immediately turned towards the nearest archway. June just assumed he knew where he was going and followed. She didn't have much of a choice anyway.

The hallway they walked down was dark and had a bunch of rooms with locked doors. June tried to stay quiet as she walked down the hallway just in case anyone was in one of those rooms and could hear her. The Doctor walked on like he didn't care if anyone came out and attempted to arrest him again.

At the end of the hallway, the floor just dropped into another ramp, a railing on its right. June looked down over the railing and gasped. It was a spiral staircase, just made of ramps instead. She followed carefully after the Doctor, almost slipping on the first ramp down.

Then, a blaring alarm went off. June froze. Oh, _now_ the Silgol behind the front desk had decided to do something. There was no other way the alarm could've gone off. The sound of hissing bounced off the walls above them. They were coming. The Doctor grabbed June and pulled her along before she could hesitate any longer.

June had run down ramps and hills before. They tilted you forward and if you ran too fast, you fell on your face. Most people leaned backwards while running down ramps so they _wouldn't_ fall on their face. Well, June didn't have the option to because the Doctor was pulling her and she couldn't keep up. At the end of ever ramp, right at the small flat section, there was a wall or railing that June almost kept barreling into,

She kept being pulled down ramps without any hesitation. "Mind slowing down!?" she shouted at the Doctor.

"Do you want to be arrested again?" the Doctor asked, not even looking back at her.

"No!"

"Then hurry up!" he yelled.

They ran until the last ramp smoothed into concrete floor. They had reached the bottom of the ' _rampcase_.' Hissing and slithering could still be heard on the ramps above. A whole group of Silgols were slithering down to them.

June and the Doctor had stopped in what looked like a large parking garage. Except there were seemingly no exits, no parking spaces, and no amount of daylight could reach how far underground June assumed they were.

June scanned the area, looking for some sort of spaceship. There were piles of junk, very broken spaceships, and oddly enough a police box from 1950s—1960s England, but no working spaceship. She was about to ask where his spaceship was, but before she could, the Doctor pulled her across the concrete floor. The one thing that kept getting closer to them the obvious target, was the police box.

They stopped in front of the bright blue police box doors and the Doctor let go of June's hand so he could search around in his jacket pocket. June glanced between him and the box. "This is a police box," June said.

"Yeah?" the Doctor said.

"It's a police box, not a spaceship," June said.

"Stop, criminals!" June turned to see a group of Silgols at the bottom of the ' _rampcase_.' June gulped as they began to slither across the concrete floor.

"Of course, it's a spaceship," the Doctor argued. He pushed the bronze key inside the keyhole and turned it.

"It's a box," June insisted. "We don't have time to look inside the box! We're being chased!" she pointed at the advancing group of aliens.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "June, I assure you, you're going to want to look inside the box." The Doctor opened the door and before June had time to protest, pulled her inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

June forgot what she had been saying. June forgot any argument and any doubt she had in her mind. The blue police box wasn't just a police box. Inside was a huge, circular room. The whole room was bathed in a bronze sort of light. The walls were curved and had odd circles pressed into them the floor was made from metal grates. A metal grate ramp led up to two other circular layers of floor which almost hid the complicated innerworkings of the machine. Wires hung from the ceiling and branch shaped pillars stood around the center of the room.

But what caught June's eye the most was the control panel. A circular control panel with a large sort of tube shooting out of the middle of it. She could even see a tattered chair on the opposite side of the room. June wondered how any of this could even be possible.

The Doctor was already at the control panel, running around it. The whole room became washed with green light and this—wheezing—filled the room. June still found herself frozen where she stood even as the floor underneath her shook. She couldn't begin to fathom anything around her.

The Doctor grinned at her. "Welcome to the TARDIS."

June nodded. "It's bigger on the inside." She felt a smile tug onto her face. She felt oddly safe in the large room.

"Ten out of ten for observation," he said.

June walked up to join him at the control panel. The metal was cold and wobbled under her feet. June could barely contain her surprised laughter. She looked over all the different buttons and switches and levers on the control panel. The wheezing had died and the green light had faded from the room.

June looked up at the Doctor, gaping at him. He wore a wide grin, one that said, _look at my cool spaceship_. "What's with the name?" she asked. "TARDIS."

The Doctor laughed. "TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

June gazed around the room, intent on soaking up every detail she could. She could never have another experience like this. "So, it's also a time machine, right?" she guessed. "That's the time bit, right?"

"Yep," the Doctor confirmed, nodding.

"Why does it look like a police box?" she asked.

"It got stuck that way," he told her. "It's supposed to blend in to its surroundings, but the Chameleon Circuit got stuck."

June leaned against the tattered old seat. She attempted to process everything. She knew that after this, nothing in the world would ever be the same again. Even though there had been proof of aliens for years, no one ever paid attention to the evidence. But this was something she couldn't ignore. June began to laugh. She clutched her stomach and laughed. "This is insane!" she exclaimed.

"Insane to you." The Doctor watched her with a smile. He had never seen anyone burst out into laughter after going through something like what she had gone through.

"Where's everyone else?" June asked.

The Doctor frowned. "What?"

June laughed a bit more. "This place is enormous!" She stretched her arms out wide, emphasizing all the space around her. "And this is just one room! There has to be more rooms, right? Where's everyone else?"

"There is no one else," the Doctor told her. "Just me."

"Must get lonely then," June said, gazing up at the ceiling. The room fell silent, but June hardly paid attention.

"It's infinite," the Doctor said after a moment. June furrowed her eyebrows at him. "The TARDIS. Go down that hallway," he pointed to a small hallway entrance at the other side of the room, "and the TARDIS goes on forever."

"Really?" she asked. The Doctor simply grinned, answering her question silently. She gazed at the hallway. "Ah, man, it must be so cool to travel in this thing." She ran a hand through her hair. Gunk. She ran into gunk. She quickly pulled her hand out of her bushy mess of hair and glanced down at her hand. Mud. She had lost herself for a moment. Sure, the Doctor's spaceship time machine was cool, but she had somewhere else to be. "Right, home."

"I just need an address, a date, and a time," the Doctor said. They exchanged smiles.

 **~*O*~**

June stepped out of the TARDIS and onto her balcony. She recognized the broken and ruined pairs of flipflops that had been abandoned in the corner by she, Grace, and Logan after a day at the beach.

"Anaheim California, December 1st, 2017," the Doctor announced. He stood in the TARDIS doorway and smiled at her.

June glanced into her apartment through the sliding glass doors. Everything seemed to be right where she had left it. It was like she had never been gone at all. She turned to the Doctor. "Thank you." She grinned at him.

"No thanks necessary," he said.

June laughed. "You're getting one anyway. _Thank you_."

"You're welcome, June."

June pulled on the sliding glass door. Locked. She chucked awkwardly. "Can I ask for one last favor before you go?"

The Doctor smiled, pulled out the screwdriver thing again, and unlocked the sliding glass door. "Now, try not to get abducted again," he said.

"Well, tell your fellow aliens not to abduct me," June said. It felt weird calling him an alien. He didn't seem alien at all. Besides the spaceship time machine of course.

The Doctor stepped inside the tall blue box again. "Goodbye, June Harlow."

"Goodbye, Doctor."

The door shut and a moment later, the wheezing started up again. Wind whipped around the balcony, pushing June's hair away from her face and pulling at her torn clothes. The TARDIS disappeared and June laughed. It was all too insane to be a dream. June smiled at where the TARDIS had stood and then stepped inside her apartment.

* * *

 **That was the third chapter of the Forest-Eyed Girl!**

 **Thanks so much for reading!**

 **Reviews and follows are appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	4. The Adventure of a Lifetime

**Hello everyone!**

 **This is it! This is the last part of the introduction!**

 **So, after this will be Rose part 1 (of 4 maybe 3).**

 **And I'm not going to have a strict updating schedule because I am a junior in high school and I'm very busy. But, I am in the process of editing the next chapter so hopefully, I'll have it up by sometime this week.**

 **Thanks for reading so far.**

 **Please enjoy chapter 4**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **The Adventure of a Lifetime**

 **January 1st, 2018**

June sat down on the couch with two slices of pizza and switched on the TV. She threw on a recording of a Disney movie and began to eat her lunch. Although, her mind began to wander to the topic of other worlds and alien species, just like it had been over the past few weeks.

In the month between being abducted and sitting and watching _Tangled_ on New Year's Day, June hadn't forgotten her experience nor moved on. Learning that there was, 100%, life on other planets and knowing that she had stepped on another ground and looked up at a different sky, she couldn't just forget it and move on. So, June had done all the research into aliens that she could. She had found all the times aliens had landed on Earth (at least in the last decade), all of which had been dubbed hoaxes. The conspiracy websites were the most interesting but also were sort of stupid.

She had even ventured onto government websites. Except just before she had found anything good, UNIT, an organization June had never heard of, began to threaten to track her computer. These UNIT warnings scared the hell out of her roommate, Grace. However, although June knew that she had pushed the boundaries a lot, UNIT had never done anything to her. Grace still always warned her not to go poking around and her friend Logan encouraged her.

June had not told either of them about her alien encounter (which she had dubbed _ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter_ just for kicks). She hadn't told them, her parents, anyone at all. No one even knew that June had been missing on that November night. She had made up a fake story about her shattered phone and her lost driver's license and no one questioned her. June didn't know how she could even begin to explain what had happened to her that night. It wasn't like she had proof. So, it had confused her friends when she started to research aliens, but June had just ignored their questions.

Otherwise, her life had been normal. Living normally felt weird when everyday she wondered about everything that could possibly be out in the universe. She bet that going to alien planets _by choice_ would be cool. She probably would've enjoyed the trip more if she hadn't just crash landed after being abducted. But, all she could do in her normal life was research and wonder.

June's phone, a brand-new iPhone that Logan's rich parents (who treated her like a daughter) had bought her because June was broke, buzzed. She had a text message from Grace.

 **Grace:** Help. My head.

The night before had been crazy for Grace and Logan. New Year's Eve. The two of them had gone to a party being held by one of Logan's friends and they had both gotten completely drunk. June would have gone and gotten drunk with them, despite parties not being her think, but Parker's band had a gig at another party and had no singer. So, June, not only being a singer but having grown up living next to Parker, had happily filled in for the missing role. But now it meant that her two best friends were completely hungover, Grace at work and Logan probably at his house, while Parker, her only not-hungover friend, was packing to fly out to Colorado for a concert. So, June sat alone, in her apartment, watching _Tangled_ for the who-knows-how-many-th time.

 **June:** Take medicine

 **Grace:** I don't have any.

 **June:** Oh well

 **Grace:** :(

June clicked on Parker's messages.

 **June:** Hey, I am getting paid for last night, right? Being friends doesn't mean I'll sing for free.

Her conversation with Grace quickly took over again.

 **Grace:** Can you bring some for me?

 **June:** Um, maybe later. If I go out later today.

 **Grace:** My head is going to split open and kill me, Junie.

 **June:** Ask a coworker for some or something.

June checked to see if she had missed a reply from Logan. Her last text message had received no answer.

 **June:** You up? I was thinking about watching a _Spiderman_ movie but I don't know which one. Need advice.

So, she sent another message.

 **June:** Are you dead?

Her phone buzzed and she clicked on the notification.

 **Parker:** Can I pay you by taking you out for a nice dinner tonight before my flight?

 **June:** Not this time. Fancy dinners don't pay for rent.

 **Parker:** Wow, you've devastated me.

She rolled her eyes and switched over to her conversation with Grace.

 **Grace:** No one had anything :(

 **June:** I'll bring you some if I end up leaving the house today but I'm watching _Tangled_ and probably some _Spiderman_ after that. I don't think I'll be going anywhere.

 **Grace:** Not even for your bestie?

 **June:** _Tangled_ Everything else

 **Grace:** You're not wrong

 **June:** Heard from Logan? He hasn't answered my messages and I asked for advice on _Spiderman_ movies

 **Grace:** Wow. Surprising. He could be dead. He disappeared from the party after 2 maybe 3. I haven't heard from him since. Try calling him.

So, June called him. It took a few rings, but eventually, he answered. "What?" His voice sounded muddled and June could just barely understand him.

"Are you dead?" June asked.

"Mhm," he hummed. "Why're you calling?"

"Too see if you're alive but I guess that isn't a problem anymore. Where are you?" she asked.

"Home," Logan said. Logan's ' _home_ ' was the guest house that sat behind his parents' mansion. They ran a popular art supply company and didn't mind throwing money to whoever needed it.

"What _Spiderman_ movie should I watch?" June asked.

There was a moment of silence. June took the last bite of her pizza and stared down at the empty plate. God, she had eaten that too fast. "I'm too dead for this," Logan muttered.

"Ah."

"Are you watching _Tangled_?" he asked.

June frowned at the TV. "Is it that loud?"

"Yup."

That's when June heard another noise, not one coming from the movie. It was the loud sound of wheezing. But a wheezing so uniquely familiar that June knew exactly what it was. She immediately stood up, brushing aside her plate, and turned in the direction of the noise. A blue outline stood on her balcony, slowly fading in and out of view. June could hardly believe what she was seeing. She stumbled around the couch, rushing towards the noise.

"What's that?" Logan asked groggily.

"I gotta go," June said. She hung up the phone before he could say anything else.

The TARDIS landed on the balcony, right where it had been a month ago. June could barely speak as she slid open the glass door and stepped outside, barefoot and in her pajamas. She had thought about the Doctor and his bigger-on-the-inside blue box many times since her _ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter_ , but never expected to see him or the amazing machine again. But there it stood, right in front of her. She reached out to touch the door, but before she could, it swung open.

The Doctor stood in the doorway and without even a hello, he asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

June gaped at him, not exactly sure what to say. She had been wanting to explore the universe, but she barely knew the Doctor and hadn't seen him in a month. And yet, there he was in his bigger-on-the-inside time machine on her balcony.

"Through time and space," he tried to clarify.

"Anywhere in the universe?" June asked. It seemed a little too good to be true.

"Anywhere and everywhere," the Doctor told her. "It'll be fantastic, I promise."

June thought about it for a moment. Besides barely knowing the Doctor, June could find no downside to the offer. If she went with him, she could see everything that the universe had to offer. If she didn't, well, she'd never have the chance. It was a little stupid to pass up.

"Last time I checked, humans don't usually heal in a day," the Doctor said.

June snapped out of her thoughts. "What?" she asked.

"You were covered in scratches when I dropped you off this morning. Where—?"

June cut him off. "This morning?" she asked. She laughed at his confused look. "That was a month ago. Like, exactly a month. Welcome to New Year's Day, 2018."

The Doctor frowned. "Oh. I thought I had it. I thought, at the most, I was only gone for a few hours."

June laughed. "You're not too good at the time travel thing, are you?" she asked.

"I'm great at the time travel thing," the Doctor argued. "I could take you to see the beginning of the universe and the end of it. You just have to say yes." June chuckled. "So, Miss June Harlow, what do you say?" he asked. "Time and space, anywhere and everywhere."

"I'd be stupid to turn that down," June said, a large grin on her face. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. "It's the adventure of a lifetime.".

Even though the Doctor had said that she didn't need to pack and that he could drop her off five minutes after she had left, June wouldn't listen to him. She quickly got changed. A tee-shirt tucked into a pair of jeans, a thick brown belt, a pair of new sneakers. Then, she made calls to her parents, Logan, and Grace. She made up a story about going on a long spontaneous road trip because she was bored. Her parents trusted her, so they didn't question much and just told her to keep in touch. Logan just listened because he was too tired to respond and had a massive migraine. And Grace never picked up the phone at all, so, June left her a long, rambling message and promised to keep in touch.

She made light conversation with the Doctor as she packed everything she needed.

"I said I'd be back by my birthday. February 11th. So, you have a couple months leeway."

"I don't need leeway."

And:

"Are you a musician?" He asked while he watched her pack up her instruments.

"Kinda. I more consider myself a singer than anything."

Also:

"What's with the excessive amount of Disney memorabilia?"

She shot him a look. "I grew up twenty minutes away from Disneyland and now I live about twenty minutes away from Disneyland. That plus the three years of working there means I've collected a lot."

"Ah."

After an hour of packing, June had finally finished. All of her clothes and such were stuffed into a large suitcase. Her toiletries and makeup were stuffed into a small duffle bag. Her laptop, microphone, and other devices along with her charger were stuffed into her old college backpack. And her instruments, a guitar she had named Duke and a keyboard she had named Della, were put into their cases. The Doctor told her that she really didn't need that much, the TARDIS could provide anything she would need (he never explained how), but June had insisted that _yes,_ she needed her things.

June switched off the movie on the TV and hauled all of her things in front of the open TARDIS doors. The Doctor rushed in ahead of her, ready to go. June did feel very excited, but she also felt just a bit of anxiety. Anywhere and everywhere. It was too big of an opportunity to pass up due to a little anxiety. She knew that she was taking a bit of a risk, completely trusting the Doctor, but she would get to know him, and _anywhere and everywhere_ , who could say no?

June stepped inside of the TARDIS and hauled her things onto the metal grated floor. The Doctor grinned at her, leaning against the circular control panel. "Ready?" he asked.

June took a deep breath, closed the TARDIS doors, and said, "Ready."

The wheezing started up again and the TARDIS vanished from the balcony.

* * *

 **And now everything is set into motion!**

 **I would love to hear what you guys think of the story so far!**

 **Reviews and follows are appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	5. Rose (Part 1)

**Hi!**

 **I honestly didn't expect to be back so soon!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has given this fanfiction a shot. It means a whole lot to me.**

 **And, to clear up any confusion, this IS a Doctor X OC fanfic. It's not going to be _that_ obvious in this story because it's just the beginning, but this series will turn more romantic later. If you don't like that, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna do it anyway.**

 **Anyway, here's the first chapter of Rose! I usually write a lot more than I have to so I had to break this episode into four chapters.**

 **There was a large time skip between the last chapter and this one, so there is some exposition at the beginning of the chapter, just to establish everything that has sort of happened so far.**

 **I won't keep you for any longer. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5  
Rose Part 1**

Night had fallen on London, 2005. June Harlow sat behind the cash register of a department store. Her brain felt numb. She scanned various clothing items and stuffed them into bags. She quickly glanced at the elevators. She handed a customer their receipt and plastic bags full of clothing. June glanced back at the elevators. She closed her cash register line, ready for the work day to end. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

June had been traveling with the Doctor for what felt like two—maybe two and a half—months. It hadn't been easy to tell time since she had stepped onto the time machine. It had been difficult to adjust to everything at first. There wasn't a set night and it was easy to appear somewhere it was the middle of the afternoon, so her sleeping schedule had been completely messed up. She could only talk to her friends and family through phone calls because video chats in her room would surely bring up suspicion. And normal, everyday things like eating and working became just background thoughts in her mind. A normal life really seemed impossible in the TARDIS, however, June got used to it after a while.

The Doctor had promised that their travels would be fantastic, but June had no clue how fantastic they would really be. They kept going places looking for a fun afternoon, but always ended up having to avoid death. One moment, they were faced with danger: angry aliens and exploding spaceships. And the next moment, they were sitting with their feet dangling over the side of the TARDIS, drinking sodas and watching stars explode.

When the Doctor had asked her where she wanted to go first, June hadn't been able to think of anything. But then she caught a glimpse of her tee-shirt. So, they had gone to a Beatles concert in the 60s. June had been so stunned that she had barely been able too say anything. When they got back to the TARDIS, June had gotten to hang up a picture of her with a large grin on her face while she stood with the Beatles.

The adventures didn't slow down after that. On her first willing trip to an alien planet, an alien King had heard June sing and decided that he wanted her as a musical slave. After June and the Doctor had escaped, they had visited the future. June had stumbled upon a Video Game Temple and had played a future version of _Mario Kart_ called _Mario Kart 27K50_. She had been terrible at it. They had visited Ancient Greece for a day. June had to change into a Toga to blend into the past, however, the Doctor hadn't change at all, which had made June wonder what the point of changing into a Toga was in the first place. They saw Zeus come down from Mount Olympus to curse a mortal. However, that Zeus was a fake. A race of war hungry aliens had been impersonating Gods and Goddesses so they could kill humans as they wished. The Doctor had managed to stop them, of course. They had also visited a large space museum full of instruments from around the universe. June had been allowed to play the instruments until she almost broke a fancy space accordion. And all those adventures had happened only in the first two weeks.

The Doctor was still somewhat of a mystery to June, although they got along well. He had been vague and mysterious at first and June still didn't know a lot about him. However, she assumed that she knew him better than most people did. She knew that he liked bananas and that he wore his leather jacket everyday without fail. He wouldn't take it off even when they were stranded out in the middle of a blazing desert. June knew that whenever he got stressed or annoyed, he would go off on grumbling rants, insulting different alien species and sometimes humans. June would usually have to nudge him and remind him not to be mean. The Doctor acted happy a lot of the time and liked showing off. But sometimes he would drop the happy act and he would look so sad, like he was just missing everything that he had lost and June would try her best to take his mind off of it. Most of the time, she couldn't get a hold of how his mind worked but still tried to understand him regardless.

The biggest mystery about the Doctor was his past. Every small clarification of who he was and where he was from only brought more questions. What he had told her about his past was like the blurb on the back of a book. Vague, but she understood what had happened. He never went into detail and June never pushed him to. He became sad whenever he talked about his past. June had decided that it was best to let him tell her more when he wanted to. She could live with a summary. He would tell her one day when it was right.

June didn't realize how much she would love the whirlwind she would be caught up in. _Nothing_ slowed down. The adventures kept coming and coming and she just had to go along with them. The Doctor never seemed to slow down either. She wasn't sure how often he paused or even slept. He was always active, always pushing for a new adventure. Even on those nights that June slept he would go out on his own adventures. June learned to be ready for anything at the drop of a hat. They would escape death, turn a corner, and be pulled right into another adventure. June constantly had that feeling that she got on rollercoasters. Thrill, adrenaline pumping through her veins, always just going along with the ride no matter how crazy it was. It was all incredible.

The department store June now worked in was called Henrik's. Every time she stepped through the doors, she felt the same feeling of dread and annoyance that she had felt during high school. The feeling made her hate Henrik's even more. Henrik's was a major downgrade from the last few jobs she had had. But, she worked there for a reason. The store—the building itself—had something to do with the Autons.

The Autons, yet another name on the _'aliens the Doctor has run into before'_ list, were living plastic creatures, usually in the form of store dummies and mannequins. June hadn't been scared of store mannequins before, but the Autons sent a chill down her spine. The memory of that _Twilight Zone_ episode she had seen didn't help much. She had assumed that the issue with the Autons would be solved within a day or two, but they had been having trouble.

A few days into dealing with the Autons, the Doctor had disappeared from the TARDIS. June had been used to him disappearing from the TARDIS, but still felt slightly annoyed with him. She decided against going after him and seeing what he was up to. She had been running almost all day, attempting to help the Doctor and feeling just a bit useless. She had been tired that night and decided that she would rather just go back to her room.

June had stopped by the console room again after a few hours. He still wasn't there. But before she had turned back to go to her room, the TARDIS doors had swung open and the Doctor walked inside. He had wasted no time to start the TARDIS.

Before June had gotten the chance to ask him about what he had been doing and what had happened, he had already started to talk about something else. That was when he had told her that he had gotten her a job. A part-time job in a department store called Henrik's. He told her that the building was connected to the Autons somehow. He wouldn't tell her how he had gotten her the job without her being there.

So, during the day, June usually ran around with the Doctor, attempting to sort out the Auton issue. During the late afternoon and night, June sat behind a checkout counter at Henrik's, not only working as a cashier, but also keeping tabs on anything that could relate to the Autons.

June had to make sure everyone got out of the store safely at closing, including all the employees and the security guards. She also had to keep everyone out of the basement around closing because that's where all the Autons sat, waiting, only daring to move as the store closed. _And_ she had to check for anything out of the ordinary while she worked. June didn't even get paid in money for her work. She got paid in hugs and compliments. She was sure that the Doctor was genuine with the compliments and all the variations of ' _Thank you,'_ he gave her. However, she thought she not only deserved the money for being a decent employee even when she didn't need to care about the job that much, but she also needed it because travelling with the Doctor didn't pay her rent.

"This is a customer announcement. The store will be closing in five minutes. Thank you."

June groaned because she wouldn't be able to leave immediately along with anyone else. She would have to sneakily hide in the middle of a circular rack of clothes so she could watch the employees and security guards leave. It took almost an hour and no one even went close to the basement so she didn't do anything but hide and watch. But once everyone left, she would be able to sneak out of the back door. The back-door's alarm didn't go off anymore. The Doctor had soniced it.

June pulled her backpack out from under her checkout counter and rummaged through it, trying to find the denim jacket she had brought with her. Her hand hit against her baseball bat (a non-murderous weapon she kept around just in case), and then against a bottle of water. She felt a little ridiculous shoving her whole arm into the backpack. She had found it in the TARDIS' wardrobe. The bag had been sitting perfectly on a dresser, like it had been waiting for her. So, she was even more surprised when she discovered it was bigger on the inside— an apparently common feature of clothes and accessories in the wardrobe. She kept basic survival things along with her instruments and her baseball bat in the bag just in case she was ever stranded somewhere or needed to fight anyone off.

Her hand grabbed the jacket's fabric just as she caught something passing by out of the corner of her eye. June looked up and yanked her denim jacket from the backpack. Rose Tyler walked across the store, towards the elevators in the back. June gulped, quickly pulled on her jacket, and chased after the girl.

June did not know much about Rose Tyler. She knew that the girl was college age (or university as they called it in England), worked at the store full-time and didn't enjoy working there. They hadn't talked much. It was mostly June's fault. Rose had tried to talk to her when she began working at the store, but June wasn't social on a normal day much less on the first day of a job she never asked for. They hadn't talked for long.

"Rose!" June called. She jogged towards the girl, swinging her backpack over her shoulders.

The blonde stopped right in front of the elevator. "Yeah?" Rose asked.

June shoved her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket and rocked on her heels. "Where're you going?" she asked, giving an awkward smile to the girl. "I thought left by now." She pointed her thumb towards the door.

Rose held up a plastic bag full of British money. "I've got to give this lottery money to Wilson," she said. June frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. She hadn't heard of a Wilson working there before. "You know, the chief electrician?" Rose asked. "His office is just in the basement."

June gulped. She could guess why she had never seen Wilson around before and didn't like what it meant. She pushed aside the dread she felt because she had to get Rose away from that basement so she wouldn't meet the same fate.

June had no clue how to stop her. "Here let me," she blurted, reaching a hand out for the bag of money. June wouldn't be going down to that basement at all, but if she could convince Rose that she could deliver the money, she could leave and then June could just sneak out like usual.

"You haven't met Wilson, though," Rose said. June froze. She hadn't bought it. June didn't know what else to do. To Rose, there wasn't any reason _not_ to take the five-minute trip down to the basement to give the money to Wilson. June couldn't change that, not after the girl had declined her offer to take the money down herself. The elevator dinged and the doors opened behind Rose. "How about you come with me?" she asked. "You can meet him. He's a nice bloke."

June shrugged. "Sure." She couldn't let Rose go down to that basement alone.

The two girls stood in the elevator together, neither of them talking. June fidgeted with the straps of her backpack. The elevator crawled down floor by floor, taking as long as physically possible. June hummed to fill the absence of the elevator music and wondered if Rose was annoyed with her for doing so. Neither of them spoke. June just wondered how she would get the both of them out of this situation.

The elevator dinged. The doors opened to reveal one of they grey, concrete hallways of the basement. The second June stepped out of the elevator, a chill ran down her spine. She shivered and rubbed her neck. She felt very inclined just to turn around and leave.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked. She had a sort of concerned look on her face, but the sort of concerned look that also seemed confused as to why the tall brunette seemed so anxious.

"Stellar," June said. She took a moment to glance down each side of the hallway. It seemed to go on forever and ever, the end getting lose in fog and bright light. She couldn't tell if any Autons were out and about and June didn't really want to find out if they were or not.

"Wilson?" Rose called out, her voice echoing through the tunneling hallways.

"Shh," June hissed, shooting the girl a tense look. Her eyes flickered around every area in the hallway. She still couldn't see any signs of the Autons. She somehow only felt more nervous.

Rose frowned at the woman. June's whole body seemed tense. "Are you sure you're alright?" Rose asked. "You seem scared."

"I'm fine," June insisted, her tone coming out much harsher than she meant it to be. "I just don't think anyone's down here. We should just go back upstairs."

"We haven't even tried looking for him yet," Rose said. "Come on." She turned down the hallway and headed off. June groaned and swore under her breath, reluctantly following her. "Wilson!" Rose called again. June winced slightly. She was so loud that the Autons would easily be able to follow her voice. "I've got the lottery money!"

They stopped in front of Wilson's office. June kept glancing around everywhere, trying to seek out anything that hid in the dark. "Wilson." Rose knocked on the door. June knew that there would be no answer. "You there?" Rose asked. "We can't hang around 'cos they're closing the shop."

"Hey," June said, waving her arm to grab Rose's attention. "Let's just get out of here. He's not down here." She nodded towards the elevator.

"Hold on," Rose muttered to her. "Wilson!" she called again. Silence greeted them again. Rose gave June an annoyed look, nodding towards the door and rolling her eyes. June awkwardly nodded and shrugged as a sort of response although she wasn't sure what Rose was attempting to say in the first place. "Oh, come on," Rose muttered.

A loud clatter rang out through the hallway. June jumped and immediately swung her backpack off, digging for her baseball bat. Rose spun on her heels in the direction of the noise. The girls exchanged looks. Rose's curious eyes went from the hallway to the baseball bat June drew out from her backpack.

Rose crept carefully down the hall. "Hello?" she called.

June slipped her backpack on and crept after the girl. "Rose," she hissed. Rose didn't pay any attention to her. June attempted to summon the most adult sounding voice she could muster. "We need to get back to the elevators. _Now_."

"It's probably just Wilson," Rose whispered to her. She walked further down the hallway, much to June's quiet protest. "Hello, Wilson, it's Rose and June!"

June could've sworn that the further they walked, the sound of an eerie whisper became clearer and louder, surrounding them. Panic alarms wailed inside June's head. She knew that she should run, but that she couldn't. Rose still wandered down the hall in front of her.

Rose stopped near a door, leaning in close to it. Her ear almost brushed against its bright blue. "Wilson?" she called.

When she opened the door, she frowned. A wave of worry settled over both of the girls. The hallway was pitch-black. June had a bad feeling about what lay hidden under the blanket of dark. And still, no matter how much her instincts told her to run, June couldn't abandon Rose.

"This is a bad idea," June whispered to the blonde. "We _need_ to go. Please."

Instead of listening to what June thought was very reasonable advice, Rose turned on the lights. They flickered before turning on all the way, casting dull light on the hallway. June's heart dropped. Autons lined the hallway, all stiff and plastic. They seemed to be leering at her. June held up her bat but knew that she wouldn't be able to fight the whole crowd.

Rose stepped out into the hallway, creeping down along the crowd of plastic aliens. "Wilson?" Rose called.

"Rose," June hissed. Her fingers gripped the door as she stared helplessly after her. "Get back here," she demanded. She stared at the back of the blonde's head as she ignored June's desperate words.

June let go off the door and reluctantly jogged to catch up with her. She watched the Autons wearily, attempting to keep track of all of them at once. None of them moved and she didn't want to be there when they started. The exit kept getting further and further away with more and more Autons close enough to close it.

The girls continued to walk, their footsteps slow and careful. The silence June wanted to maintain was broken by Rose. "Wilson!" she yelled. June silently gaped at her. She wanted to slam a hand over the girl's mouth, keep her quiet, but there was no reason to anymore. The Autons were watching them.

Rose stopped by a red door and attempted to open it. June turned away from her, deciding to face the crowd of plastic creatures, trying to spot any movement. Rose kept trying to open the locked door, pulling at it desperately. June tried to hold her bat and seem as threatening as possible.

 _Slam._

June nearly jumped five feet into the air. Rose whipped her head around to face the noise. The door they had gone through, the nearest exit, had been slammed shut. June's stomach filled with uncomfortable dread. The Autons were attempting to lock them in the room. Rose, not knowing this, sprinted to the door. June reluctantly ran after her.

Rose pulled desperately at the door but it wouldn't budge. "You're kidding me," she grumbled. She yanked on the handle some more. June glared in the direction of the Autons, attempting to look threatening. She didn't usually look intimidating at all, but she could sure try.

More clattering and clanging echoed from further down the hallway. Rose looked to June, eyes wide, hoping that the woman had a way out. June didn't look at her. She seemed prepared for a fight. A fake fury blazed in the woman's forest-green eyes.

"Is that someone mucking about?" Rose yelled. She pushed past June and crept down the hallway again. June inched after her, wondering why she didn't just stay in one place. "Who is it?" Rose called.

A menacing creak cracked echoed the hallway. A shutter ricocheted down June's spine, making her jump. Both girls spun on their heels. One of the Autons leaned out of the shadows, leering at them. June lurched back, her stomach dropping. The plastic creature slowly began to approach them as more and more of the beings in the room came to life.

"Yeah, you got us," Rose said, attempting to sound confident despite how her voice shook. "Very funny."

June stood her ground and swung her baseball bat. It smashed against the Auton's plastic skull. It staggered away. The sudden attack only made the Autons around them quicker, wanting to get rid of the threat as quick as possible.

June hit another Auton in the head, sending it staggering backwards only to fall. June paid no attention to how Rose shrieked her name in shock, she didn't have time to.

The Autons closed in around them. June quickly realized that she was losing this battle, but she still swung at them with all her might. She swung and hit and fought as she and Rose were backed towards a wall. "Get away from us!" June shouted. The Autons never stayed down for long and June wondered how long she could fight against them.

She prepared to swing again, but her bat was suddenly yanked out of her hands. June gasped and spun on her heels. An Auton held her baseball bat in its large plastic hand. June sneered and lunged for it. Another Authon stepped in her way, sending June staggering backwards, not wanting to let them get a hold of her.

A clattering echoed from the dark hallway next to them. Her baseball bat was gone. June gulped, the ball of dread in her stomach growing bigger.

She grimaced as her back pressed against the cold basement wall. The Autons stood inches away from her and she stood completely defenseless. No more backing up, no where to run. That's when a hand wrapped around hers. Rose. Rose was probably more scared that June was. June had faced aliens, Rose hadn't. She glanced at the blonde only to see that she had braced for the worst. June shut her eyes tight, hoping for a miracle.

"Run."

That voice. _His_ voice. June's eyes snapped open and her feet moved without her thinking about it. She was pulled down a hallway after Rose. Most of the dread and fear left her. They were escaping. June wasn't exactly fond of having to rely solely on him, just in case. But without her baseball bat or anything else to defend her and Rose, she didn't know what else she could rely on. And thankfully, he came through like he usually did.

They stopped in a service elevator. June got the chance to catch her breath and Rose backed away from the doors. June's legs still shook a bit, but a relieved smile spread onto her face.

"Catch."

June turned in time to catch her baseball bat. She gaped at the Doctor, who wrestled with a plastic arm that kept the elevator doors from closing. "Picked that up for you," he grumbled absentmindedly. June couldn't help but smile at him.

June turned to the plastic arm's side, raised her baseball bat above her head, and slammed it down on the arm as hard as she possibly could. The arm fell clean off its body and the elevator doors finally shut.

The Doctor turned to smile at the girl as she put her baseball bat back into her backpack. "Good job," he complimented. June just shrugged and grinned lazily at him. He quickly pulled her into a tight hug. June happily hugged back, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I told you to keep people out of the basement at closing," the Doctor whispered as he let the brunette go. He nodded towards Rose.

"I tried," June whispered back. "She wouldn't listen to me." She pouted at him.

Rose gaped at the two of them. June nervously met her eyes. "You chopped his arm off," Rose said.

"Not really," the Doctor said. June glared at him. She could talk to strangers _sometimes_ , especially when they were talking to her. "Baseball bats don't _chop_." He tossed the arm to Rose. "Plastic," he said with a smile. He turned away, crossing his arms.

"Very clever," Rose said. "Nice trick! Who are they then, students?" she asked. "Is this a student thing or what?" Rose asked.

The Doctor glanced back at her. "Why would they be students?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Well, you said it," the Doctor said. "Why students?"

Rose hesitated for a moment. June glanced up at the Doctor. She couldn't help but wonder why he was in the building in the first place. He hadn't mentioned having to go to the store that night. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and wondered what he was planning.

"'Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students," Rose explained.

The Doctor smiled at the blonde. "That makes sense," he said. "Well done."

"Thanks," Rose said.

He turned to the elevator doors again. "They're not students."

June grabbed one of his crossed arms. The Doctor looked down at her, confused. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a harsh whisper. He immediately looked away from her. She tugged on his sleeve, glowering up at him. "Doctor," she complained.

"Whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's going to call the police," Rose said. June winced. _How_ could she have forgotten Wilson?

"Later," the Doctor whispered to her, although June's mind was on something else now. "Who's Wilson?" he asked Rose.

"Chief electrician," she said.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "Wilson's dead," the Doctor said. June shuttered.

The Doctor took June's hand and they walked out of the elevator. "Bit insensitive," she muttered to him. He ignored her and pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

Rose stormed out of the elevator after them. "That's not funny. That's sick!" she exclaimed.

"Hold on." The Doctor stopped her and made sure both of the girls stood on the opposite side of the elevator doors. Rose gave June a confused look and June smiled slightly and shrugged. "Mind your eyes," the Doctor said, turning back to the elevator button. June turned fully on her heels, facing the empty hallway.

Rose didn't bother to heed the Doctor's warning. "I've had enough of this now," she said. The sound of sparks shot through the silent hallway. Rose shrieked in response.

The Doctor took June's hand again and pulled her down the hallway after him. June glanced back at Rose, who stood frozen in place, gaping after them. June glanced up at the Doctor. She couldn't guess what he was up to.

"Who are you, then?" Rose called after them. "How do you know June?" June winced awkwardly at the sound of her name. "Who's that lot down there?" Rose demanded. "I said, who are they?" She ran to catch up with them.

"They're made of plastic," the Doctor told Rose as they walked through the empty basement hallways. "Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He stopped and let go of June's hand. He pulled a small device out of his pocket. June couldn't recognize what it possibly was. She couldn't help but take notice of the exit doors just behind him. "So," the Doctor continued, darting up a small staircase and holding the exit doors open, "I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me." He pushed Rose through the door.

June gaped and glared at him. He smiled cheerily at her. "I didn't agree to this," she argued. How could he think that she would just let him go and possibly blow himself up?

"Then it's a good thing you're not going to be here," the Doctor said. He pushed her through the door and out into the parking lot. He ignored the brunette's clear anger and looked back at the still stunned Rose. "No, you go home," he said. "Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

"Doctor." June started towards the door. She couldn't just let him blow up the building, not by himself at least.

He held out a hand to stop her. "You get back to the TARDIS," he said. June opened her mouth to protest, but he shut the door in her face. June reached for the handle, ready to go after him, but the door swung open again. June staggered back as it almost hit her. The Doctor frowned at her. "Careful." June glared at him. He looked at Rose. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

"You're doing _introductions_?" June grumbled, glaring at him.

"Rose," Rose muttered.

"Nice to meet you, Rose," he said. He grabbed June's hand and squeezed it. She met his eyes, her eyebrows furrowed. "June." He gave her a small smile. June stayed quiet, gaping at him. She didn't like the look in his eyes. The one that made her uneasy because he was about to do something dangerous. The Doctor dropped her hand and held up the small device—the small _bomb_. "Run for your lives!"

The door shut. June pulled at the handle, but it didn't budge. She swore to herself and yanked it a bit harder with no results. He must have soniced it. She couldn't go after him. She turned to the stunned Rose. "Come on, let's go," she grumbled, pushing past the blonde.

"You know him?" Rose asked. They walked out onto the sidewalk by the back of the store.

"Yeah." June glanced back up at the store and bit her lip. "We have to run."

"What?"

June already ran down the street. Rose sprinted after her. June kept glancing at the store, waiting for the explosion she knew was coming. Rose had to grab her arm and pull her across the street. A car almost hit them as they crossed, but June was more focused on the building.

They rushed onto the nearest sidewalk. June recognized the street. The TARDIS stood parked a little down the way, in a small gap between two buildings. She would've let out a sigh of relief, being so close to safety, but couldn't. The girls stopped on a street corner for a moment and watched the building.

Both of them jumped at the sound and sight of a large explosion. The roof became engulfed in a cloud of red flames. June's heart stopped for a moment. She winced, but couldn't tear her eyes away. The top floor's line of windows shot out of their places, again, engulfed by fire. June wondered if the Doctor had made it out okay. She considered going to check but knew stepping closer to the explosion would be a bad idea.

Rose tried to pull June away from the scene, but the woman absentmindedly hit her arm away. Rose left her on the street corner and ran. June watched the store burn for a moment. There was nothing else she could do. She took a deep breath and walked over to the shadowy outline of the TARDIS. She pulled the small, bronze TARDIS key out of her pocket, glanced back at the burning building, and then pushed her way into the TARDIS.

* * *

 **How'd you guys enjoy the chapter?**

 **I really hope the exposition wasn't too much.**

 **Anyway, I'm in the middle of editing Rose part 2, so I have no idea when it'll be up. I will hurry and try to get it done asap.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading!**

 **Review and follow and favorites are always appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	6. Rose (Part 2)

**Hello again!**

 **I'm back for Rose part 2! But first, I have four things to say:**

 **1) It's my birthday! I'm officially 17 years old!**

 **2) If you look at the cover of this story, you will see a drawing of June that I did. That's what I picture her looking like, if you picture her differently, that's fine, you do you boo**

 **3) To answer the question Pfannkuchen07 asked in their review, yes, everything in the first four chapters with the Silgols, the abduction, the planet, etc. was my own idea. Thank you for the compliments, it means a lot to me!**

 **4) If you guys leave questions in a review, I will answer it in the author's note before the next chapter. So if you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or hell, if you want, just PM me.**

 **Okay, no more waiting, please enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Rose Part 2**

The console room had an eerie feeling of emptiness to it, almost like a lack of life. Whenever June was left alone in the TARDIS, everything felt slightly off. It felt like the one piece that made everything feel right had gone missing. June shuttered and walked up the ramp to the console.

June let her backpack fall on the floor before she settled, sitting crisscrossed on the one tattered chair in the room. She hummed to herself, trying to fill the silence, and tapped her fingers on her knees along to the beat. Her eyes kept flickering from the console to the door. She wondered if the Doctor was okay and when he would be back.

Time crawled by. Her anxiety faded from a tense feeling that wrapped around her body to a faint uncomfortable buzz in her stomach. June eventually hopped onto her feet, her legs still a little wobbly, and wandered around the console. She wondered how she would get home if the Doctor wasn't going to come back. She spent a moment looking at the scanner, but she couldn't read anything on the screen. She felt slightly tempted to push a button or pull a lever on the console but knew that it might be a stupid idea.

The TARDIS door swung open and the Doctor walked inside without a single scratch on him. June gaped at him as he joined her at the console. "Went off without a hitch," he beamed.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" June yelled, staring at the man with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Sometimes it felt like he wasn't real. No one just walked casually back into a room after blowing up a building.

The Doctor frowned. "I told you," he said. "There was a relay—"

June held a hand up. "No," she interrupted. "I don't mean that. I get why. I'm talking about your ' _plan_ '." She used air quotes around ' _plan'_.

"The only way to get rid of it was to blow up the building," he explained.

She gaped at him. "With you _inside_?"

"Yeah, you usually have to be near a bomb to set it off," the Doctor said.

June took a deep breath and shook her head. "You could have _died_ ," she stressed. "You said so yourself."

"But I didn't," he pointed out. He sighed and grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry," he said. She glowered at him. "I'm fine."

June rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I got that," she said. "But, were you going to tell me about your _plan_?" She raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor shook his head. "Nope," he said. He said it so casually. "You would've tried to stop me, could've gotten yourself in trouble." June shrugged, knowing he was right. "Turns out you don't need me to get into trouble."

June leaned against the console. "I told you, Rose was going that way and I couldn't stop her," she said. "Really. I tried. I thought I could get her out of there." She sighed. "It didn't go that well."

The Doctor gave her a lopsided smile. "Yeah, I could see that."

June still couldn't help but feel a little upset with him. But, she knew that his hearts were in the right place. There was no use arguing about it anyway. "At least I don't have to go to work tomorrow," she joked. They both laughed. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

The Doctor grinned. "Glad you asked," he said. "We get to look for signals that can lead us to the Nestene Consciousness."

June frowned. "Wait, we're not done?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. What would make you think that we're done?"

"Blowing up a building is usually the end of things," she said.

He smirked. "Usually, not always."

June shrugged. "Alright. I'll give you that." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Some of us actually need sleep. _Sometimes._ "

"Waste of time," the Doctor commented.

"Not to tired humans," she said. He raised his eyebrows, questioningly. She rolled her eyes and turned away, waving hand as she walked across the room. "Later."

"Yeah, goodnight," he called from the console.

June stopped before she left the room. She looked back at the Doctor. She still felt slightly uneasy. It didn't feel right to just leave it like this.

June ran back up to the console. She quickly pulled the Doctor into a tight hug. He didn't hesitate to hug her back, he never did, but he was confused. "What are y—?"

"I'm glad you're not dead," she said. "Just tell me next time you're about to do something stupid."

He smiled. "Sure."

June let him go and rushed out of the console room without a single look back. The Doctor smiled after her. He flicked another switch on the console and the TARDIS spun further into space.

 **~*O*~**

June was not fond of snooping around strangers' flats – they weren't called apartments in England—but she didn't exactly have a choice. She and the Doctor had to follow a signal he had picked up with his sonic screwdriver. That signal led them a whole block of flats. And despite how awkward June felt walking around a place where no one they knew lived, they had to follow the beeping of the sonic screwdriver.

People would pass them all the time and June couldn't help but be hyper aware of everyone. She didn't believe that anyone was suspicious, she was afraid that they would find her and the Doctor suspicious. She'd be suspicious if she saw two stranger snooping around outside her apartment. But no one even seemed to notice them. Sure, people would glance at them, but they would never look at them twice. She hummed to keep her mind off her worries.

The Doctor stopped in front of a random door. The door looked just like every other door they had passed before, and it probably led to a flat that looked just like all the other flats. There was absolutely nothing special about it, well, until the Doctor stopped in front of it. "The signal leads here," he said.

June leaned against the wall. "So, what do we do now?" she asked. "We can't exactly go inside and look around."

"Sure, we can," the Doctor said. He pointed down at a small dog door.

June noticed it, but just shrugged. Sure, it was there, but they couldn't do anything about it. "So?"

"It's a cat flap," he said.

"A cat flap?" she asked. The Doctor nodded and crouched down in front of the cat flap. He tried to look into the apartment, but the cat flap seemed stuck. "Do they really call them cat flaps?" June asked, sliding down to the floor. The name was a bit ridiculous sounding.

"Yep," the Doctor said as he used the sonic on the stuck door.

"So, you're sonicing the cat flap?" she asked, trying to stress the absurdity of the sentence.

"Yep," he said again.

"So, the sonic can sonic everything including a cat flap?" she asked. "And what about the alternative with a less ridiculous name: a dog door? Could it sonic a dog door?"

"Yes, June, it could sonic a dog door," the Doctor said. He sounded ever so slightly annoyed. "It can do anything but wood."

June stopped for a moment, processing the new information. "The sonic screwdriver can sonic everything but wood?" she asked.

"Yes."

"You know screwdrivers are usually used to screw two pieces of wood together, right?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Like putting together shelves and stuff? What's it good for if it doesn't do wood?"

"It's good for everything else!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Are you going to question everything?"

"Yes!" June exclaimed, giggling at his obvious annoyance. "By the way, why doesn't the sonic screwdriver look like a normal screwdriver? And if it doesn't look like a screwdriver and doesn't really do what a normal screwdriver does, then why is it called a sonic screwdriver? Can't you call it a sonic something else and then just say you made it from a screwdriver?"

There was silence. The Doctor sat up right and frowned at her. June watched him expectantly, waiting for an answer. He simply asked, "Are you done?"

June rolled her eyes, smirking and giggling. "You're no fun."

The Doctor rolled his eyes right back at her and turned back to the cat flap again. He pushed the cat flap open, attempting to look inside the flat. "I can't see much," he said.

"Well it's a cat flap," June reminded him. "It's not as big as a dog door."

A moment after the cat flap had clattered shut, it swung out at them. June and the Doctor grew completely silent. The cat flap swung out from the inside again. June and the Doctor exchanged confused looks. As soon as it clicked back into place, the Doctor leapt back up onto his feet. June stood up too, glancing over the Doctor's shoulder at the door. The door to the flat clicked and swung open.

Rose Tyler stood in the doorway. She stared at them, utterly stunned to see the two of them after the events of the night before. June felt a little awkward seeing her. She didn't really think that she would ever see Rose again.

"What're you doing here?" the Doctor asked.

"I live here," Rose replied.

"Well, what do you do that for?" the Doctor asked. June furrowed her eyebrows at the question. It was a ridiculous question.

"Because I do," Rose retorted. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. "I'm only at home because someone blew up my job."

The screwdriver buzzed. "I must have got the wrong signal," he said. June sighed. How long had they wasted looking for it, then? "You're not plastic, are you?" He knocked on Rose's forehead. June gaped at him, wondering what exactly could possibly be going through his head. "No, bonehead. Bye, then." He took June's hand and stepped forward, but before they could walk away, Rose grabbed his jacket.

"You two. Inside. Right now," she snapped. She pulled the two of them into the flat and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Who is it?" a voice called from a little way down the hall.

Rose stopped in the open doorway of a room. June bit her lip and tapped her fingers against her legs. She hated being in strangers' houses. She glanced up the Doctor and attempted to tell him to get them out of there only with her eyes because it would be awkward if Rose heard her ask. He tried to give her a comforting smile. June sighed.

"It's about last night," Rose told the person in the room. "He's part of the inquiry and June worked in the shop with me. Give us ten minutes." She walked down the hallway and turned through an open doorway.

"She deserves compensation," the voice called. June glanced into the room as she passed. An older blonde woman sat on her bed in a pink robe. Rose's mom, she guessed. Who else could it be? She continued to walk but stopped when she noticed that the Doctor had stopped in the doorway of the room.

"Oh, we're talking millions," he said with a smile.

June couldn't help but worry that Rose was now suspicious of her after the events of the night before. She didn't want to face any awkward small talk or any questions while waiting for the Doctor. So, she leaned against the wall where she thought Rose's mom couldn't see her and waited.

"I'm in my dressing gown," the woman said, her voice now much lighter and happier than before.

"Yes, you are." The Doctor looked around the hallway awkwardly. June had to hold back a laugh.

"There's a strange man in my bedroom," the woman continued.

"Yes, there is," the Doctor said. He immediately looked away, deciding to look at June instead. June had a hand clapped against her mouth, trying to silence her laughter. She could physically _feel_ the awkwardness. It made her uncomfortable, but at least it wasn't happening to her.

"Well, anything could happen," the woman said.

June finally couldn't take the awkward feeling anymore and grabbed the Doctor's arm, pulling him away from the doorway. He said a quick, "No," as he was pulled away.

Once they were out of earshot, June began to laugh. "Oh my god," she managed through laughter. "That was bad. That was so awkward. I could feel it."

"Yeah, it was," the Doctor muttered. He rolled his eyes at June's continuous laughter.

June glanced back at him. "I can't leave you anywhere, can I?" she teased, biting on her tongue through giggles.

"People just love me, what can I say?" he joked.

June laughed. "Says the man who has enemies all across the galaxy." They turned into the living room, both still laughing.

Rose was trying to clean up the living room while they walked in. "Don't mind the mess," she said as she walked across the room. "Do you two want a coffee?"

"Might as well, thanks," the Doctor said. "Just milk."

"Nothing for me," June said.

The Doctor walked across the room, grabbed a magazine from the coffee table, and began to flip through it. June wandered carefully into the room, her hands in her pocket. She watched the Doctor out of the corner of her eye. Rose called to them from the kitchen. "We should go to the police. Seriously. All three of us."

"That won't last," the Doctor commented, scanning the magazine, "he's gay and she's an alien."

"What're you talking about?" June asked as she scooted around the table to look over the Doctor's shoulder at the magazine. She didn't even manage to catch a glance before he threw the magazine back down on the coffee table and picked up a book.

The Doctor flipped through the book as he wandered around the room. "Hmm," he hummed. "Sad ending." He tossed the book back down on the coffee table.

"You didn't just read that book super-fast," June challenged, following him across the room.

"I did," he argued with a smile. He picked up a letter from a small table outside the kitchen. "Rose Tyler," he read.

June leaned on the wall in front of him. "You're full of BS."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Wanna bet?" he asked.

June grinned. "Gladly." The Doctor tossed the letter back down on the table. "I'll give you a book you haven't read before when we get back to the TARDIS," she said. He crossed his arms, smirking at her. "You read it with your super speed or whatever, tell me the ending, and I'll tell you if I got it right."

"What do I get if I do?" he asked.

June bit her lip and thought about it for a moment. She grinned at him. "I won't question anything you do for a week," she said. "No dumb questions, no insulting the sonic, no asking if I can fly the TARDIS."

The Doctor nodded. "Sounds appealing."

"But if you don't," June continued, "you have to take me anywhere I want to go for a week, no matter how ridiculous the request, no matter how boring you think it is."

"Alright. I'm fine with that. But there has to be a few exceptions."

She frowned at him. "What exceptions?"

The Doctor smiled at her. "No Disney parks, past, present, or future and we can't meet Walt Disney."

June groaned. "But why not?" she complained.

"Those trips are for special occasions," he told her. June raised her eyebrows at that. "Your birthday's coming up soon, isn't it?"

June narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Let me think about it."

"You're afraid I'm gonna win," he said. He looked to the side and then turned, looking at his reflection in a small mirror that hung on the wall. "Ah, could've been worse," he muttered. "Look at the ears." He flicked his earlobes.

June had heard the Doctor make comments like that on occasion. It seemed like he was evaluating his face for the first time. She had asked him what was up with the comments and he had just dismissed her question, telling her that it was complicated.

June pushed herself off the wall and walked over to him. She watched him frown at himself and snickered at how critical he was. "I'll accept the exceptions," June decided, "but you have to explain why you keep making weird comments about your face. No dismissing my questions. I can understand it. I'm smart, you know that."

"Do I?" the Doctor asked, glancing over his shoulder and smirking at her.

June rolled her eyes and held her hand out. "Deal?" she asked.

He was quiet for a moment. He looked her up and down and then met her forest-green eyes. He smiled and shook her hand. "Deal," he agreed.

"Anyway, what's wrong with your ears?" she asked as the Doctor turned back to look at his reflection.

"They're a bit big, don't you think?" he asked.

June studied his reflection for a moment. "I think they suit you."

The Doctor almost laughed. He glanced back at her and an amused smile tugged on his lips. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked.

She smiled back and shrugged. "Take it any way you like."

He chuckled and picked up a deck of cards. "Luck be a lady," he said. June watched with her hands in her pockets as he tried to shuffle them. The cards shot out of his hands and went flying around the room. The Doctor looked around and frowned. "Maybe not."

June laughed loudly. She clapped a hand over her mouth to make her laughter more muffled. The Doctor frowned at her. She grabbed his arm, tugging on his jacket sleeve, and through giggles and hiccups, she exclaimed, "You can defeat evil aliens and save planets, but you can't shuffle a deck of cards!"

"Like you could do much better," he retorted, frown still on his face.

"I bet I could," she giggled. Honestly, June hadn't shuffled cards in years. "Pick up the cards and I'll show you." She knew that he wasn't going to pick up the cards, so she had an out. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she could still see the amusement in them.

Suddenly, the cat flap rattled. June stopped laughing and she and the Doctor exchanged confused looks. "What's that, then?" the Doctor asked, walking over to the couch and attempting to look behind it. "You got a cat?" he asked Rose.

"No," Rose said.

June wandered over to the Doctor. Then, a plastic arm, the one June recognized from earlier in Henrik's basement, shot out from behind the couch. The plastic hand quickly grabbed the Doctor by the throat. June gasped and darted over to him as he stumbled off the couch, grabbing the arm, attempting to pull it off. June grabbed the arm and pulled as well, trying to help as much as she could.

They both darted around the room. But, no matter how hard they pulled, the arm stayed stuck around the Doctor's neck, slowly strangling him. June was desperate to pull the arm away, yanking on it as hard as she physically could, but it wouldn't budge. The Doctor's face kept getting redder and redder.

The Doctor collapsed into a cream-colored chair, still struggling with the arm. June set one of her feet onto the arm of a chair, tightening her grip on the plastic. She hoped that she would have extra leverage, but still, nothing worked.

Rose walked into the room, three mugs in her hand. "I told Mickey to chuck that out," she said, setting the mugs down on the coffee table. "You're all the same. Give a man a plastic hand. I didn't expect you to play along, June, no offence. Also, I just got you a cup of water." She was silent for a moment, standing to look at the two, shaking her head. "I don't even know your name. Doctor, what was it?"

The arm let go of the Doctor, flying into the air and throwing June onto the floor. Her head smacked against the hardwood, sending a throbbing pain through her skull. June winced, clutching a handful of hair. June wondered if it was possible that she had a concussion but told herself that that was stupid. She hadn't hit the floor _that_ hard. She forced herself to sit up just in time to see the arm grab Rose's face and push her against the wall. The Doctor immediately jumped from the chair and ran to grab it. June groaned and pushed herself off the floor to help, although her head felt dizzy.

June joined the Doctor in his attempt at pulling the arm off Rose. June felt incredibly tired of having to tug on the plastic arm but didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Apparently, their combined strength still wasn't strong enough to get the arm off Rose. It _was_ strong enough to send the three of them falling backwards onto the coffee table. It completely shattered under them. The Doctor and Rose rolled away, but June stayed put. Her head had collided with one of the iron rod legs of the table and a pile of broken glass. She stared up at the ceiling as the pain in her head swelled. She needed some pain killers.

It took a moment, but June finally forced herself to sit up again and was immediately struck with a wave of dizziness. She pushed aside the spinning in her head and looked for the Doctor. He sat right next to her, not even a full foot away, and held the plastic arm. He shoved his sonic screwdriver into the palm of its hand. The hand's flexing fingers stopped flexing and the whole arm was still.

June let out a sigh of relief and even a small giggle, just glad that they didn't have to deal with the plastic arm anymore. She ran a hand through her hair, shaking shards of glass out and onto the floor. She winced when her fingers ran upon a sore spot that felt unnervingly wet. She pulled her hand out of her tangled hair and looked down at it. Her fingers were red with blood.

"It's alright, I've stopped it," the Doctor said. He tossed the plastic arm to Rose. "There you go, you see? Armless."

"Was that a joke?" June asked.

The Doctor turned to her and smiled. "Yeah, it was." He expected her to laugh and shake her head at him, but she remained fixated on her own hand. "You okay?" he asked.

June held her hand up and wiggled her bloodied fingers. "The glass got to my head," she said. She cracked a smile at the sight of her fingers. "I read a scary story about bloody fingers once when I was a kid. It was pretty funny." She experimentally dabbed at the wound on her head and only found it to be even stickier. She winced.

The Doctor pulled a cloth from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "Make sure there's no glass and then apply pressure."

June scoffed. "Really living up to your name, aren't you?" She carefully felt the area around the wound to find no glass. She pressed the cloth to the bloodied spot and winced again at the pain. She met eyes with the Doctor. He looked concerned. She gave him a small thumbs up with her free hand.

 **~*O*~**

They raced down the staircase. The Doctor held the plastic arm in one hand and June's free hand in the other. June's other hand still pressed the cloth to the wound on her head. Rose chased after them. "Hold on a minute. You two can't just go swanning off."

"Yes we can," the Doctor retorted. "Here we are. This is us, swanning off. See you."

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill me."

"Ten out of ten for observation," the Doctor said. June snorted lightly at that.

"You can't just walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell me what's going on," Rose argued.

"No, I don't."

The Doctor and June pushed through the door, leaving the building of flats. June glanced over her shoulder to still see Rose still chasing after them. "Alright, then. I'll go to the police," Rose threatened as they turned onto a street away from the building. "I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking."

June and the Doctor frowned at Rose. "Is that supposed to sound tough?" the Doctor asked. June didn't think highly of the threat considering that Rose knew that people would die if she told anyone.

"Sort of," Rose muttered, keeping pace with them as they walked behind the building.

"Doesn't work," the Doctor told her.

"Who are you?" Rose asked again.

"Told you. The Doctor," the Doctor said. "And she's June." He pointed at June with the plastic arm. June glared at the arm. She wanted to push it away but couldn't considering her hands were still full.

"Yeah, I got June," Rose said. June felt awkward at her name being mentioned. She was the outside party of the conversation. It felt a little weird being acknowledged by someone other than the Doctor. "But Doctor what?" Rose asked.

"Just the Doctor."

"That's all you're going to get," June muttered, more to herself than to Rose.

"The Doctor," Rose repeated, gaping at him.

The Doctor waved at her with the plastic arm. "Hello!"

Rose laughed. "Is that supposed to sound impressive?" she asked.

"Sort of," he said.

"It doesn't," June muttered.

The Doctor turned to her and frowned. "You don't have to be rude," he scoffed. June laughed.

Rose hovered closely to the Doctor, still intent on having her questions answered. June frowned. She sort of thought that the girl would've left. Not that June really minded, she was just used to people leaving after confusing conversations with the Doctor. Yet, Rose was still there. "Come on, then," Rose urged. "You can tell me. I've seen enough." June and the Doctor exchanged looks. Neither of them seemed convinced. "Are you two the police?" she asked.

June snickered. Despite how he traveled through time in space in a large blue box that said, 'police,' the Doctor was probably the furthest thing from the police. In fact, she wondered how many laws he could've broken through his travels just without realizing it.

"No, we were just passing through," the Doctor told her as they rounded a corner. "We're a long way from home."

"But what have I done wrong?" Rose asked. "How come those plastic things keep coming after me?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you!" the Doctor exclaimed, waving the plastic arm about. "You were just an accident. You got in the way, that's all."

Rose seemed offended. June frowned at the Doctor for sounding a little too harsh, but he didn't notice her narrow-eyed look. "It tried to kill me," Rose argued.

"It was after me, not you," the Doctor said.

June frowned. "What about me?" she asked.

"It came after you by default. You go everywhere with me," the Doctor told her. "Anyway," he turned back to Rose, "last night, in the shop, I was there, June was supposed to keep everyone out of the basement, but you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, June and I were tracking it down, it was tracking us down. The only reason it fixed on you is 'cos you've met us."

"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you," Rose summarized.

The Doctor beamed. "Sort of, yeah."

"You're full of it," Rose laughed.

"Sort of, yeah."

June scoffed and laughed. "You have no idea." She met the Doctor's questioning eye. "You're so much more than full of it."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, grinning down at her.

"Oh yeah," she confirmed, nodding. They both grinned and laughed.

"But, all this plastic stuff," Rose continued. "Who else knows about it?"

"No one," the Doctor said.

"What, it's just you two on your own?" Rose asked, glancing between the two of them.

"Well, who else is there?" the Doctor asked. "I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on. June's special, that's why she's here, but the rest of you—" he trailed off, having already made his point. June smiled at his compliment and squeezed his hand appreciatively.

Rose frowned and grabbed the plastic arm from the Doctor. "Okay. Start from the beginning."

They walked away from the flats, up a concrete path through a hill of green grass. Rose kept up with the Doctor and June and June had an incredibly odd feeling that she would be seeing the blonde a lot more often. "I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't even believe that, how do you kill it?" Rose asked.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm," the Doctor explained. "I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control?" Rose asked.

"I thought it was called thought control," June said, remembering something that Doctor had mentioned a few days before. "Right?" she glanced up at the Doctor, still a little unsure. It was difficult to listen to him continuously ramble about things she didn't really understand.

"Right." He nodded.

Rose went quiet. June glanced over at her. She stared down at the sidewalk, seemingly attempting to work through it all. "Are you alright?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," she muttered. She hesitated for another moment. "So, who's controlling it, then?"

June looked up at the Doctor, raising an eyebrow. He had said _Nestene Consciousness_ , but never actually explained what it was. "Long story," he said. June shook her head. She should've expected the not-answer.

"But what's it all for?" Rose asked. "I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" The Doctor and Rose both laughed at the question. June stayed quiet and looked between the two of them for a moment. She looked back at the sidewalk moving underneath them. She wasn't exactly sure what was funny.

"No," the Doctor said as they continued to laugh.

"No," Rose agreed.

"It's not a price war," the Doctor said. They both laughed some more. June could feel a small pit of dread in her stomach. June didn't like not getting things. She didn't like feeling so far on the outside. It was horribly isolating. She awkwardly glanced at the cloth she had been holding to her head. A corner of it was covered in her blood. She pressed a clean spot back on the wound.

"They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you," the Doctor deadpanned. The laughing stopped.

"Great job on the delivery there, Doctor," June snickered. "Not blunt at all."

He bumped into her playfully, getting her to look at him. "Sarcasm?" he asked. "At a time like this?" He wore a smirk. June shrugged, smiling again. The Doctor looked back at Rose. "Do you believe me?"

Rose gaped at him. "No," she said.

"But you're still listening," he told her.

June smiled when she saw the TARDIS waiting across the street for them. Rose stopped walking, watching them go from a spot on the sidewalk. "Really, though, Doctor," she called after them. "Tell me, who are you?"

The Doctor looked back at the girl and smiled faintly. June glanced back at the TARDIS, wanting to go to it. "Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving?" the Doctor asked her. Rose continued to gape at him. The Doctor dropped June's hand and wandered over to Rose. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning, and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still." He went quiet. June frowned. "I can feel it," he said. He took Rose's hand.

June was sure he continued on about how he could feel the world revolving, but that's when June turned and walked towards the TARDIS. She took the cloth from her head and looked at it as she crossed the street. No new bloodstains were on it. She pulled the TARDIS key out her pocket. She plugged it into the keyhole, stuffing the cloth into her free pocket. She glanced back at the Doctor and Rose for a moment, who still seemed to be talking. June looked away and pushed inside of the box.

* * *

 **Thank you guys for reading another chapter! I hope you liked it!**

 **I have no clue when Rose part 3 will be up, so just hang tight.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	7. Rose (Part 3)

**Hi everyone!**

 **I really don't have anything to say, so I won't keep you guys any longer.**

 **Please enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 **Rose Part 3**

June walked straight through the console room, not slowing nor stopping for a moment. She walked blindly into a hallway, not knowing how long it would take her to reach her room. The TARDIS would move and change the hallways around, either making if very easy or very difficult to get where she wanted to go. This time, the TARDIS led her straight her to her room.

Her room sat at the end of a long hallway full of other doors. June could only guess that all the other doors led to bedrooms. She had only managed to look into one because the rest were locked. The room she had looked into just seemed to be a girl's bedroom. When she had returned a little while later, the door had been locked.

June walked into her room and slouched against the closed door. The walls of her room were bright yellow and on them hung framed retro Disneyland attraction posters. Her bed sat against the back wall in the middle of the room, a complete unmade mess with bags and hats hanging off the metal rod frame. She had a TV in front of her bed, a nightstand on its right and a lamp on its left. There was a desk that doubled as a vanity against the right wall and a large mirror that hung over it. Next to it were glass doors that opened onto a small balcony which looked out on anything June wanted it to. In the corner was a grand piano she had named Dixie and the stands for her other instruments when she hadn't shoved them in her backpack. On the right wall were white doors, one leading to a bathroom, one leading to a small walk-in closet, and one leading to a soundproofed room where she could record music and upload it to the internet to make at least a little money. It was June's little corner in a box that went on forever.

June threw her backpack onto her bed and wandered over to her desk, kicking off her sneakers. She set the TARDIS key down and looked at her own reflection for a moment. She sighed to herself and ran a hand through her hair. She took a moment to feel her head wound and was happy that she had stopped bleeding.

When she looked down, she realized that her makeup, pens, and guitar picks had been pushed out of the center and off to one side. Instead, a long silver chain sat there. She had never seen the chain before, but the TARDIS sometimes left things around for people. She picked it up and let it dangle from her finger. There was no charm or anything at the end. It was just a plain chain. She could put something on it but didn't have anything. And that was when it hit her. She grabbed the TARDIS key and threaded the chain through it. She clipped the chain and its new charm around her neck and let it hang. A new necklace. June looked up at the ceiling. "Thanks," she said, not actually sure if the TARDIS could hear or understand her no matter how the Doctor insisted that it could.

The familiar wheezing of the TARDIS filled the room. June jumped for a split-second thinking that it was a reply but realized that the Doctor would just be back in the console room and that the machine was just taking off. June patted her desk and left the room, wondering when dealing with the Autons would finally be over.

When June walked into the console room, the Doctor seemed to be attaching something to the console. June furrowed her eyebrows and walked up the console, wondering what he was up to. She turned around the console and looked down at the plastic arm. The Doctor was busy attaching wires and clips to the arm while occasionally glancing at the scanner. "So, you kept the plastic arm," June said.

"I did," the Doctor said, not bothering to look up at her. "Why'd you run off?"

June sat down on the tattered seat, resting her arm over its back. "You were rambling. I wanted to come back to the TARDIS." She shrugged. The Doctor didn't say anything. He gave her a once-over before going to look at the scanner. "That's why," June said, catching his suspicion. "You ramble a lot and most of it is nonsense. So, I just came back to the TARDIS."

"Alright." He sounded like he didn't believe her. But, he quickly changed the subject. "New necklace?"

June ran her thumb under the chain and looked down at it. "Yeah. The TARDIS left the chain in my room. But, why'd you keep the arm?"

"I should be able to follow the signal back to the transmitter, which should lead me to the Nestene Consciousness," the Doctor explained, not tearing his eyes away from the screen.

June crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. "How long is it going to take?" she asked.

"Dunno," he said, tapping the screen. "The signal is weak. It might take a while."

"Alright." She nodded and slid off the seat and walked across the room.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor called after her.

"We made a bet!" she called back before disappearing down the hallway.

The TARDIS led June to the massive library. Bookshelves towered over her the moment she walked into the room. She dodged a cushy armchair and walked on layered carpets. June looked up towards the ceiling. "Make this easy for me."

The TARDIS shuffled the books on the shelves. It was impossible to look for a specific book if the TARDIS didn't help. June wasn't sure if the library was infinite or not. It seemed like it could go on forever. The TARDIS usually helped June find whatever she was looking for because if it didn't, June was afraid that she wouldn't be able to find her way out.

This time was no different. Every cheesy YA novel June had ever read were stacked together on one single shelf. This was the only genre she knew that the Doctor would never willingly touch or pay attention to at all. June scanned the spines for a while before realizing that all the books were all similar and very similarity bad, so it didn't matter which one she picked. She ended up pulling out a cheesy romance novel that she had read in high school. It had been terrible. She left the library, flipping through the pages, and grinning to herself.

June walked back into the console room and tossed the book over to the Doctor. "There you go. Do your super-fast reading thing. Tell me the ending."

The Doctor grimaced at the book cover and turned it to her. "This looks awful," he said.

June leaned on the console next to him. "It is. It's incredibly awful. But, I know how it ends. And if you really can read super-duper fast, you shouldn't suffer for long."

The Doctor gave her an unamused look, rolled his eyes, and then flipped through the book. He closed it and tossed it back to her. He immediately looked back at the scanner. "They drive off into the sunset and have a happily ever after."

June glanced at the last page, scanning the last sentence. She could easily remember the ending considering how out of the blue it was. "Nope. They both die in the end, actually. I win."

"You don't even know for sure," he pointed out, nodding at how she looked at the last page.

She shook her head. "Did you even read it?"

"I tried," he said. "But it was awful. How did you ever read that?"

"I was in high school, thought it was a good idea," she said, looking at the cover. "And I hated it. But I still win." She walked around the console, tossing the book onto the seat.

"Alright," the Doctor said. "After this, we go wherever you want to go, no complaints, no insisting that there are much more interesting places to go."

June smiled. "Thank you." She leaned against the console. "How do you feel about going to the World's Fair?"

The Doctor shrugged and nodded. "Not the worst destination, I'll give you that," he said. "It just can't be the 1964 World's fair."

June stopped and frowned. "Damn you." He laughed a bit. "But," she walked around the console, "that wasn't the only part of our bet." He crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows. "You've got to tell me about the face thing."

"Is that what you're calling it?" he asked. "' _The face thing'_?"

June nodded. "Well, I don't know the real name for it," she said. "You could tell me and explain why you look like you're not used to your face."

The Doctor half-smiled. "It's complicated."

June rolled her eyes, tired of the same non-answer. "Well explain it in a way that I can understand, even with my tiny human brain." He gave her a look. She frowned at him. "Come on," she complained, grabbing one of his crossed arms and trying to shake him. "I won the bet. You have to."

"Technically I just didn't pay attention to the book," the Doctor argued. "You still don't know if I can read super-fast or not."

"Two things," June said. "One," she held up a finger, "the bet was about you telling me the ending of a book, so it doesn't matter that you didn't pay attention. Two," she held up another finger, "like I've said many times before, you can't just keep everything from me."

The Doctor sighed and went silent for a moment. "Alright." June grinned and jumped on her heels. She raced around the console and sat down on the seat, tossing the book somewhere off behind her.

The Doctor leaned against the console across from her, his arms still crossed. "Time Lords have this way of cheating death," he began. "It's called regeneration. Every Time Lord has a certain amount of regeneration energy. It's enough for about eleven to twelve regenerations. Twelve or thirteen incarnations of one person. But whenever a Time Lord regenerates, everything about them changes." That made June's eyebrows furrow. She leaned closer, swinging her legs. "Their face, body, voice, personality."

June thought about it for a moment. The Doctor that stood right in front of her wasn't always the man she knew now. He had been completely different before. "So, you've just regenerated recently?" she guessed.

"Yep." The Doctor nodded. "Not that long before I met you."

"So, how many times have you regenerated?" she asked.

He gave her a quizzical look and started around the console towards the scanner again. "You assume this isn't the first time?"

"You seem like the type who would cheat death often," she smirked.

"You're not wrong," he told her. "This is my ninth face."

June gaped at him. She wasn't sure what to expect from him, but nine faces seemed too high. "Ninth?"

"Yup." He hit the side of the scanner roughly and frowned at it.

"But doesn't that mean you only have like three or four more bodies to go through before you die for good?"

"Nice to see you understand." He seemed for focused on the scanner. "But I've lost the signal."

June sighed and bit her lip. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Not your fault," the Doctor told her. "The signal was too weak to follow anyway. And at least I got rid of that arm before it attacked anyone else."

June frowned. "It's gone?"

The Doctor pointed to the part of the console the arm had been attached to. June leapt off the chair and walked over to it. All the wires and clips were now loose and a small bit of melted plastic stuck to the console. "Damn," she muttered. "What now?"

"Track another Auton, take a better piece of it and try to track down the transmitter," he said. "It'll probably take a while for another Auton to pop up, so we have a while to lay low."

"When you say a better piece, what are we talking?" June asked. "A leg?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "It might be better than the arm, but still not strong enough."

"What about a torso?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, that could work. A head would too."

June snickered to herself. "This conversation would be really bad out of context." They laughed a bit. "I'm going to eat some lunch. I think it's around lunch time. Be back in a minute."

"Alright. Have fun."

June laughed, grabbed the cheesy YA novel, and left the console room. She returned the book to the library, quickly shoving it into a random spot on a random shelf and then went off to the kitchen. She looked around the cabinets and fridge for anything she could eat without having to cook. She hit the jackpot when she opened the freezer and saw a small box of dinosaur nuggets. She thought that she could question why the time machine decided to give her dinosaur nuggets, but she decided to just go along with it. She grinned and, laughing to herself, microwaved a plateful of nuggets. She squirted some ketchup onto the plate and then left the kitchen.

The Doctor gave June a confused look when she walked into the room with her lunch. She smiled at him and settled back down on the seat. She happily took a bite of her first nugget. She hadn't had them since she was a kid. The Doctor walked over and frowned at her plate. "Really?" he asked.

"The TARDIS is full of surprises." She swallowed a bit of nugget. "And today I got Dino-nuggets. Don't be so critical." She grinned and took another bite. The Doctor took one off her plate and walked off with it. "Ah, what the hell, man?" June complained, mouth full.

"You should protect your Dino-nuggets better," the Doctor told her before biting into the food. "We could go see some dinosaurs after this."

"We might get eaten," June said. "You know, revenge for the nuggets of the future."

"I could convince them not to."

"How?"

"I speak Dinosaur."

"That's bull."

"I speak everything, June."

"Let's make another bet."

 **~*O*~**

A few hours without any signs of any Autons went by. June had finished her lunch. She and the Doctor had a small conversation in French just to prove to each other that they could both speak the language. June had tried to plug her phone into the console so she could play music throughout the room and the Doctor hadn't helped her at all. Then she had zoned out and played on her phone while the Doctor explained how he tracked the Autons with the scanner. And then June had asked the Doctor about his past faces. The Doctor had changed the subject and taught her how to plug her phone into the console. They had just agreed on a song to play when a new signal popped up on the scanner.

The Doctor set the TARDIS into flight. June dashed out of the console room, put on her sneakers, and slung her backpack over her shoulders. The wheezing died down after a moment and she sprinted back into the console room where the Doctor was waiting for her.

They exchanged grins and left the TARDIS. They stood in a backlot of some sort of building. Though it had become night, June felt wide awake. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Restaurant," the Doctor told her. "The Auton's just inside. Come on." He took her hand and they walked up to the restaurant. He used the sonic screwdriver to unlock the back door. They snuck past the employees in the kitchen and ducked into the dining room. They hid behind a half wall that surrounded the main dining room, peaking over the top of it to see.

The restaurant was full of people, just sitting and not suspecting that a living plastic creature sat amongst their midst. June scanned the crowd but could see nothing out of the ordinary. She turned to the Doctor. "So, where's the Auton?' she whispered.

The Doctor glanced down at his sonic screwdriver, which beeped increasingly, and scanned the people at the restaurant. "There at the center table." He pointed in its direction.

June soon spotted the table he pointed out. A blonde girl and a dark-skinned guy sat there, talking to each other. June could have sworn that the blonde looked familiar somehow. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer at her. "That's Rose," she realized.

"Oh yeah, it is," the Doctor said absentmindedly.

"How'd you not notice?" June asked.

"I was a bit busy looking at the Auton," he said. He looked down at the sonic screwdriver and then back up at Rose and the other guy,

"What's she doing with an Auton?" June asked.

"Dunno," the Doctor said, looking back at the kitchen. "Wait here."

June frowned and watched him disappear into the kitchen. A moment passed and he walked back out, now holding a bottle of champagne. Oh, he was going to walk right up to them. June wondered if he was crazy. Rose and the Auton were not the only people in the restaurant. It would be better just to lure the Auton outside so there weren't any witnesses around to see the living plastic creature. But, June didn't have the time to stop him. He smiled as he walked past her, holding the champagne up so she could see it. June shook her head but he descended down into the dining room anyway.

June watched over the half wall as the Doctor walked right up to Rose and the Auton's table and held out the champagne bottle. They ignored it. The Doctor stepped around the table and presented the champagne bottle again. They rejected it. But, he kept trying to give them the champagne. He kept trying to be noticed. June rolled her eyes.

Then, the Auton finally looked up at him. All the annoyance on his plastic face melted off, turning into a grin. June quickly pulled her baseball bat out of her backpack and started carefully down into the dining room.

The Doctor shook the bottle of champagne. June felt very aware of the weird looks she was getting as she walked across the dining room with her baseball bat resting on her shoulder. She scanned their confused faces, wondering why, with a living plastic creature in the room, _she_ was the one being stared at. Suddenly, there was a loud pop. June looked over just in time to see the cork from the bottle shoot into the Auton's forehead. Its face stretched and its eyes went crooked. June and the Doctor exchanged looks.

The cork disappeared into the Auton's forehead as its face molded back to normal. Its jaw moved as if it was chewing and it spat the cork out at the Doctor. June couldn't help but snicker. "Anyway," the Auton said. It stood and its hand morphed into a large flat mallet. Rose bolted from the table just as the Auton raised its hand above its head and slammed its brand-new weapon onto the table, making it break in half and collapse. June jumped back and Rose grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the violent creature.

The Auton turned to smash something else, but the Doctor hurried over and, much to June's surprise, put it in a headlock. June pulled out of Rose's harsh grip and ran over to the Doctor. He had begun to pull on the head as the Auton attempted to fight back. "I can't believe you put it in a headlock," June said, grinning at the Doctor.

"Impressed?" he asked, taking a moment to look at her.

June snickered. "It'd be no fun if I was."

The Auton's head separated from its body with a loud pop. People screamed and June jumped away. The Doctor stumbled forward, still holding the head. He turned it around in his hands and looked down at it. June watched over his shoulder. The head was completely still. And then its eyes snapped open. "Don't think that's going to stop me." It seemed like something out of a cheesy horror movie.

The body slowly rose on the other side of the room, its arms flailing around, perfectly happy to hit anything it could. June held her bat over her shoulder and ran towards it. Rose hit the fire alarm and wailing filled the room. June slammed her baseball bat into the body's stomach, sending it toppling backwards.

"Everyone out!" Rose shouted. "Out now!"

June backed away from the body as it stood on its feet again. Even though it didn't have a head or a face, it was clearly angry. The Doctor still held the motionless head and grabbed June's hand, pulling her out of the dining room. She, the Doctor, and Rose ran through the back of the restaurant as the crowd of customers panicked around them. Rose yelled, "Get out! Get out! Get out!" as they ran through the kitchen.

The back exit was soon in sight again. When June glanced over her shoulder, she was surprised to see the body not too far behind them, smashing and destroying everything in its way. The trio sped through the back door, the Doctor slamming it shut behind them.

"Sonic it!" June yelled at the Doctor. They had to keep the destructive body at bay for as long as possible. The Doctor tossed the head of the Auton to June. She dropped her baseball bat and fumbled but caught it. It felt almost gross holding the head of a seemingly human person in her hands. She could feel that it was plastic and she knew that it was just the Auton, but it looked like a real person. She wanted to drop it right there but held on to it as the Doctor soniced the door shut.

Rose had run all the way across the lot to a large gate. She hammered on it, but it seemed locked. She turned to the Doctor. "Open the gate!" she shouted at him. The second the Doctor had put away his sonic screwdriver, June tossed the Auton's head back to him and picked up her bat. "Use that tube thing. Come on!" Rose yelled.

The Doctor and June walked back to the TARDIS. "Sonic screwdriver," the Doctor corrected, holding it up for her to see.

"Use it!" Rose shouted.

"Nah," the Doctor said. June put her bat back into her backpack. She took the chain off from around her neck and used the key to unlock the TARDIS. "Tell you what, let's go in here," the Doctor said.

June raised an eyebrow at him, slipping the chain back around her neck. She guessed that Rose knew too much about the Autons not to become completely involved, but it still felt odd. The Doctor just nodded and they stepped inside the TARDIS.

June knew that there was no point in asking him if he was sure about introducing Rose to his world. Of course, he was sure. June still felt uneasy about it. It felt like this moment was going to be much bigger than just a quick trip in the TARDIS to escape a crazy plastic creature. This was a change. June wasn't sure if she was ready for a change. She was comfortable and happy. Strangers threw everything off. But June knew that none of this was ultimately up for her to choose. It was the Doctor's TARDIS and the Doctor's life, only he could control who got close enough to see who he really was.

Rose ran inside of the TARDIS. She froze in place, her eyes growing wide. And then, she sprinted right out again. June gave the Doctor a look. "She'll come back in a second," he said. He turned and began to attach the Auton's head to the console.

Rose ran back into the console room, shutting the door behind her. "It's going to follow us!" she shouted.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door," the Doctor said, not bothering to look up from his work, "and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute."

"Bet that's an interesting story," June said. She glanced at Rose's shocked face for a moment. "You meeting Genghis Khan."

"I'll tell it to you later, now shh," he said. June rolled her eyes and sat down on the tattered chair, letting her backpack fall off her shoulders.

"You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect," the Doctor explained as he attached more wires and cables to the head. "I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." He turned to Rose. "Right." He shoved his hands into his pockets. June slid off the seat and walked over to stand next to him. She hated feeling so far away. "Where do you want to start?" he asked the blonde.

Rose was quiet. She stared around the console room with wide eyes. "Er, the inside's bigger than the outside?" she asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said.

"It's alien," Rose said.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"Are you alien?" Rose asked.

There was a pause. "Yes."

Rose looked at June. "Are you alien too?" she asked.

June shook her head. "Nope. Human. I am from the future, though."

"Is that alright?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Rose said quickly. She looked at June again. "The future?"

"Mhm," June nodded.

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing," the Doctor explained. "T-A-R-D-I-S." He turned to June. "Remember what it stands for?"

June frowned. "What, are you quizzing me?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, smiling.

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space," June recited. She smirked. "Don't underestimate my memory, thanks."

Rose burst into tears. June stumbled, stunned by the sudden outburst. She grabbed the Doctor's arm and gave him a wide-eyed look. The Doctor looked just as awkward as June felt. "That's okay," he attempted. "Culture shock. Happens to the best of us."

"Did they kill him?" Rose asked, wiping her eyes and looking up at the two of them. Her question was met with momentary silence. "Mickey?" June guessed that Mickey was the guy she was supposed to be sitting with. "Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

The Doctor gaped at her for a moment. He glanced at June out of the corner of his eye and she gaped right back at him. Neither of them were exactly sure what to say. He looked back at Rose, his eyebrows furrowing. "Oh. I didn't think of that."

June sighed. Saying that ' _he didn't think of that_ ' did not make him sound good. She hit his arm softly, grabbing his attention. She shook her head, attempting to tell him to be careful with what he said. He could try to sound a little more sensitive. An ' _I don't know_ ' would've worked much better.

Rose glared at him. "He's my boyfriend," she snapped. June sighed and looked between the two of them. "You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think?" No one spoke. "And now you're just going to let him melt?" she asked, gesturing to the console.

"Melt?" the Doctor asked, spinning on his heels. The head was melting on the console. The arm hadn't melted _that_ fast, so why was the head? "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor shouted. He sprinted around the console, pushing and pulling controls. The room filled with the familiar wheezing sound of the TARDIS taking off.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Following the signal. It's fading," the Doctor said. "Wait a minute, I've got it." He stopped in front of the scanner. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" June frowned and held onto the railing as the TARDIS jerked around. She watched him run around the console frantically. She really didn't want to lose the signal for a second time that day. She was ready to get the Auton thing over it. "Almost there," the Doctor said. "Almost there! Here we go!"

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor wasted no time running to the door. June grabbed her backpack and ran right after him, hot in his heels. Rose, however, stayed put. "You can't go out there. It's not safe!" she yelled after them.

They stepped out onto a bridge overlooking a river. June didn't know exactly where they were. Somewhere in London, she assumed. The Doctor paced in a circle, his hands shoved in his pockets, clearly frustrated. June knew immediately what had happened. He would only be upset if they hadn't been able to find the signal. She sighed and when the Doctor looked at her, she shrugged and gave him the best sympathetic look she could. Rose ran out of the TARDIS a moment later.

"I lost the signal," the Doctor grumbled. "I got so close." He leaned against the railing, staring down at the water.

"We've moved," Rose gasped. "Does it fly?"

"Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand," the Doctor said.

Rose looked at June, furrowing her eyebrows, looking for a clarification. June gave Rose a sympathetic smile and shrugged. There was no way to clarify. June leaned on the railing next to the Doctor. "If you got so close, it means that it's somewhere close around here. I bet we could find it."

"Maybe," he grumbled. "Doubtful. It's probably invisible."

"If we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing?" Rose asked. "It's still on the loose."

"It melted with the head," the Doctor said, pushing away from the railing and walking past the blonde. "Are you going to witter on all night?"

June frowned and quickly caught up to him. "Hey." She tugged on his jacket sleeve, catching his attention. "I know you're upset, but it doesn't mean you get to be rude." He rolled his eyes at her.

"I'll have to tell his mother," Rose sighed. The Doctor frowned at her, clearly confused. "Mickey. I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!" By the exasperated look on the Doctor's face, it was clear that he didn't care. June hit his arm. He didn't even look at her, he could picture the disapproving look she gave him. "You were right, you are alien," Rose snapped at him.

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey—"

"Yeah, he's not a kid," Rose interrupted.

"—It's because—" June groaned as he continued talking, "—I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?" he snapped back. _Ape_. It made her blood boil. He had _no right_ to call humans apes. She hated the insult more and more every single time he used it. He couldn't just go around thinking that humans are uncivilized animals and that other species were beneath him. He could just drive her up the wall sometimes.

"Alright!" Rose shouted back.

"Yes, it is!" the Doctor yelled. Rose shook her head. The Doctor glanced down at June and, upon noticing her glare, he rolled his eyes. "Now, don't give me that look, Harlow. We've talked about this before," he grumbled.

"Call humans ' _apes_ ' one more time and you'll get to see how bad my baseball bat can hurt," she spat at him through gritted teeth. He gave her a look of frustration. June just stepped closer and gave one in return. She wasn't intimidated by him. She never would be. He rolled his eyes at her and turned away, crossing his arms.

"If you are an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?" Rose asked. June narrowed her eyes at her. Out of everything to say in that moment, she asked about his accent.

"Lots of planets have a north!" the Doctor exclaimed. June couldn't help but wonder if his accent had come with his new face.

"What's a police public call box?" Rose asked.

The Doctor glanced between the blonde and the TARDIS. "It's a telephone box from the 1950s." He grinned again and put his hand on the box. "It's a disguise.

"A broken disguise," June grumbled.

The Doctor gave her a look. Though he had gotten over his fit of anger, June still glared at him. He put his arm around her and pulled her into a side hug. He smiled down at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay. And this living plastic," Rose continued. "What's it got against us?"

"Nothing," the Doctor said. "It loves you. You've got such a good planet." He wandered over to her, pulling June along with him. "Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner!" He mimed eating with one hand.

"Any way of stopping it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor pulled a tube of blue liquid out of his jacket and held it up. June narrowed her eyes at it. She had seen it before. The Doctor had shown it to her. She didn't exactly remember the name. "Not plastic or something?" she guessed.

"Anti-plastic," he corrected.

"Anti-plastic," Rose repeated.

"Anti-plastic!" the Doctor beamed, point at the tube. "But first I've got to find it." He wandered away, letting June out of the side hug in the process. "How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

"Hold on," Rose said. "Hide what?"

"The transmitter," the Doctor and June chorused. The Doctor grinned at June. "Someone's been paying attention." June smirked and shrugged. The Doctor put the anti-plastic back in his jacket and continued, "The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What's it look like?" Rose asked.

"Like a transmitter," the Doctor said.

"Real helpful there, Doctor," June scoffed. "Wanna specify?"

"Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London," he said. He walked past a pillar. The girls followed his aimless wandering. "A huge circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel." The Doctor stopped and faced them. Behind him stood the London Eye, glowing bright against the night and the rest of the city lights. June and Rose exchanged looks. It was completely obvious. They had found the transmitter. But the Doctor still continued, "Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible."

June gaped at him, shocked that he didn't see it. Rose gaped at the London Eye just behind him. If he followed Rose's eyeline, he would surely get it. "What?" the Doctor asked. Rose nodded to the London Eye and June crossed her arms, waiting for him to see it. The Doctor turned around and then looked right back at them. "What?" he asked. June stared at him, just wondering _how_ he didn't see it. Rose nodded at the Eye again. The Doctor turned around, looked right at it, the turned back to them. "What is it? What?"

June sighed and rolled her head on her shoulders. "Oh my god," she groaned. "You're such an idiot sometimes." The Doctor frowned at her. "Look behind her!" She held an arm out towards the London Eye.

The Doctor turned around again and then spun back. "Oh," he said. He looked back at it, then back at them. He grinned. "Fantastic!" He ran off, leaving June and Rose to sprint after him.

June managed to catch the Doctor's hand while they ran across the bridge. The London Eye kept getting closer into view. She exchanged semi-nervous, semi-excited looks with Rose. The Doctor still grinned wildly. They ran down a few steps and across concrete, only stopping when they were under the Eye.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive," the Doctor said. "The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables."

"The breast implants," Rose added.

June laughed. "So, just about everything," she said. "Even the smallest toy dinosaur. Plastic bags, too?" She shrugged to herself.

"Still, we've found the transmitter," the Doctor said. "The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

"Aren't we surrounded by water?" June asked as Rose ran off.

"Kind of, yeah," the Doctor said.

"What about down here?" Rose called to the two of them.

The Doctor grabbed June's hand and they ran to where Rose stood, looking over the side of the bridge. There was a set of stairs that led to a manhole entrance sitting on the shore. "Looks good to me," the Doctor said.

They ran down the steps and stepped onto a metal box. The Doctor crouched down and twisted open a small, circular hatch. A bright red light seared and steamed from underground. June winced. "Yeah, that looks about ominous enough."

The Doctor didn't hesitate a moment before descending into the ominous red lighting. June took a deep breath and stepped onto the ladder after him. The thought of going down there made her anxious, but she moved on. The air around her became thick as she climbed down further and further, wondering what waited on the other side.

* * *

 **How'd you guys like the chapter?**

 **The next chapter is the last chapter of Rose! Then we move on to the End of the World!**

 **I think I'll be updating soon, so expect the next chapter in maybe a week.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	8. Rose (Part 4)

**Hi everyone! I'm back!**

 **This is the last chapter of Rose! The End of the World should be about three chapters long, so look forward to that.**

 **And, exciting news (for me at least), I am going to go see Genesis of the Daleks at the theater tonight! I haven't watched a lot of Classic Who, but I'm super excited.**

 **Anyway, I shouldn't keep the chapter off for any longer. Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Rose Part 4**

The ladder led down into a small room bathed in red lighting. Warm air clung to June's skin and she pushed her bushy hair out of her face. The Doctor had already found a door and Rose stepped off of the ladder right after June. He gave the two girls an encouraging smile and opened the door. The three of them stepped out onto a metal staircase and the room opened up around them. They had stepped into a large underground chamber with several confusing staircases and walkways and dramatic red mood lighting. But what really caught everyone's attention was the bubbling lava pit in the middle of the room.

June and Rose followed the Doctor down a staircase, getting a better look at the lava pit. "The Nestene Consciousness," the Doctor said. "That's it, inside the vat." He pointed at the lava. "A living plastic creature."

June gaped down at it. Usually the aliens she saw were at least a little humanoid, not just a bubbling thick liquid. She couldn't fathom how it could work, how it could think, how it could control the rest of the Autons around the city. It all seemed a little too impossible. "Is that really it?" June asked.

"Yep," the Doctor nodded.

"Well, then. Tip your anti-plastic and let's go," Rose said.

"I'm not here to kill it," the Doctor told her.

"You've just got to give it a chance, don't you?" June asked. She didn't mean for it to sound like a bad thing. Giving it a chance to just leave them alone was a lot better than just destroying it and running. She always preferred it when he gave aliens a chance.

"Of course, I do," he said.

They walked down another flight of stairs and the Doctor looked over the iron rod railing down at the vat of not-lava but living plastic. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation." The Nestene Consciousness flexed in its vat. "Thank you," the Doctor said. "If I might have permission to approach?"

Rose suddenly gasped and ran past the two of them. "Oh, god!" She ran down two levels and knelt down in front of the non-Auton Mickey. He sat tied up to the railing, obviously scared out of his mind. The Doctor and June exchanged looks. The Doctor seemed annoyed, rolling his eyes, and June's look told him to cut it out.

Rose turned to them as they stepped off of the staircase. "They kept him alive," she said.

"Yeah, that was always a possibility," the Doctor said. "Keep him alive to maintain the copy." June rolled her eyes and shook her head as she followed him towards another staircase which descended closer to the Nestene Consciousness.

"You knew and you never said?" Rose snapped.

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?" he dismissed. He turned to June. "Stay here," he said.

June shook her head. "No way." The Doctor frowned at her. "You might need backup. And I'm backup." She didn't feel right about letting him go by himself. If he was going to be right in the middle of the action, she would be by his side, ready to fight if anything went wrong.

"It could be dangerous," he warned her.

"It's always dangerous," June argued. "But, friends don't let friends go into dangerous situations alone, so I'm going with you."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He obviously didn't think it was a good idea but didn't want to argue with her. "Alright fine, you can come with me," he grumbled. June grinned at him. "But if I tell you to run, you have to run."

"Got it."

June caught the Doctor's hand as they walked down another staircase and across a walkway. They stepped out onto a concrete platform that dropped down over the Nestene Consciousness. June's stomach seized. She wasn't sure what was giving her more anxiety: the alien or the open edge of the platform.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness?" the Doctor asked. The Consciousness shifted and glowed red from its vat. "Thank you," he said. "If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by the means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" He smiled at the Consciousness.

June whacked his arm, but still snickered. "Don't be rude to the Consciousness," she scolded through a grin. He smiled at her. She stepped closer to him and added in a whisper, "Especially when the Consciousness could probably kill us."

The Nestene Consciousness flexed around in its vat. It squirmed in a way that made June think that it was angry. It formed what looked like a face with two large furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes staring up at them.

"Oh, don't give me that," the Doctor said, frowning down at it. "It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights." The Consciousness thrashed around, a faint hissing echoing off of the walls. "I am talking!" the Doctor shouted at it. June stared wide-eyed up at him. His voice could sound so much like thunder sometimes. She had never been scared of how he yelled, of course, he had never shouted at her like that before. "This planet is just starting," the Doctor continued. "These stupid little people have only just learned how to walk, but they're capable of so much more." June didn't know whether to be insulted or not. "I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

"Doctor! June!" Rose shouted.

June jumped at the sound of the blonde's voice and spun around to look up at her. Instead, she saw three Autons walking towards them. She was immediately spun back around by one of the Autons. Its plastic hands wrapped around her arms and pinned them behind her back. The other two Autons grabbed the Doctor. June went immediately into desperate survival mode and thrashed around in the Auton's grip. Her joints and arms popped around, all boney elbows and weak wrists. Ultimately, she wasn't strong enough to wiggle free.

One of the Autons grabbed the anti-plastic from the Doctor's jacket and held it up high in the air. June could've sworn that she stopped breathing for a moment. If all had gone wrong (as it was now), the anti-plastic was their out. A bit of a gruesome out, but still an out. And now the Doctor didn't have it and the Nestene Consciousness knew that it had been there in the first place. June wondered how much more screwed they could get.

"That was just insurance," the Doctor told the Consciousness. "I wasn't going to use it." The Consciousness roared and squirmed and thrashed some more. "I was not attacking you," the Doctor insisted. "I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not." It howled and the Doctor's face dropped. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly, loud clunks and creaks stirred around behind them, June didn't know what from though. She tried her best to look over her shoulder, searching for the source. When she managed to stretch her head around enough, her eyes were immediately drawn to the TARDIS gleaming up on a higher floor.

"No. Oh, no. Honestly, no," the Doctor gaped. June's stomach plummeted but she tried to stay calm (which was becoming a bit of a chore). "Yes, that's my ship," the Doctor told the Consciousness.

The Consciousness whined and thrashed and hissed.

"That's not true!" the Doctor shouted at it. "I should know, I was there. I fought in the war." June's eyes snapped over to him. "It wasn't my fault," he cried. "I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" June, of course, knew what he was talking about. It had taken a bit of poking and prodding, but he had told her. Never to the full extent though. She hated the amount of pain in his voice. She hated how she wasn't about to yell at the Consciousness to leave him alone because he didn't deserve to have to keep reliving everything that had happened even more than he already did. She did really want to shout at it, but her voice swallowed itself.

The Nestene Consciousness twisted and curled, hissing loud and recklessly. The almost-face it had made curdled and distorted more and more in anger.

"What's it doing?!" Rose shouted down at them.

"It's the TARDIS!" the Doctor shouted back, trying to turn despite the restraint. "The Nestene's identified it as superior technology! It's terrified! It's going to the final phase! It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!"

June kicked her heels back against the plastic legs of the Auton, almost expecting it to hurt and flinch and accidently let her go. But the whole body was plastic. It didn't feel pain. It didn't feel anything. It was just a piece of plastic, holding her against her will. The whole time she kicked, she remembered that she was stuck only because of herself. It made her feel a little sick.

And then she linked eyes with the Doctor. "I'm sorry!" he yelled at her.

Despite the situation, June scoffed something sounding like a laugh. "Don't apologize!" she yelled back. "I chose to come down with you! I wasn't very useful as backup, was I?" He opened his mouth, but June turned her head away. She wasn't about to listen to him tell her that she wasn't at least a little in the wrong. Instead, she looked up to see Rose. She couldn't see her well. But she was still there. She hadn't run at all.

Blue lightning broke out from the Nestene Consciousness. It struck against the ceiling and lit up the room in bright light. June shrieked and attempted to duck. Her arms stretched awkwardly as she dropped to the floor so she shot back up in an attempt to ease the pain. She turned to look at the Doctor. "Doctor!?"

"It's the activation signal!" he yelled, answering her question before she even asked. "It's transmitting!"

The whole ceiling smoked and shuttered as bolts shot through the roof. June had no clue what was happening on the surface but knew that it wasn't any good and that she didn't have a lot of time to wonder about it.

The Nestene Consciousness roared and stretched, grabbing at the platform, reaching for them, like a child reaching for a toy that their mother had put onto a high shelf. If they were toys, then it seemed like they were stuck in the incinerator scene. Fire shot up around them and licked railings and the concrete platform and anything else it could get its flames on.

The Doctor turned to look at Rose. "Get out, Rose!" he shouted. "Just get out! Run!"

"The stairs have gone!" Rose shouted back. She was stuck. Her boyfriend was stuck. The surface was in possible turmoil.

June stopped struggling. If she could get out of the Auton's grip, she would have already. When she looked over at the Doctor, he gave her a look, one that tried to apologize for letting her into that mess, one that tried to tell her that she couldn't've done anything differently. Of course, she wasn't an idiot and she knew that he was the Doctor, another not-idiot who, because he was him, would either take the blame or dismiss the blame for anything she did wrong in an attempt to make her feel better. But that wasn't helping anything. It didn't stop June from thinking about her mistake. It didn't stop everything from falling apart around them.

The Auton that held the Doctor brought him over to the edge of the concrete platform. He struggled as the Auton attempted to push him over the edge. June tried to pull away, but still struggled against the grip of the Auton holding her. She could only scream after him, and she did. She shouted at the Doctor or at the Auton or at the Nestene Consciousness, maybe all three. She wasn't sure, she couldn't hear herself. And Rose and her boyfriend Mickey shouted down at the scene. But, nothing changed. June couldn't fix anything.

The Nestene Consciousness hadn't exactly spoken before. It had just hissed or growled or roared or whatever. But it spoke, in clear English, two words. Words not directed at June, of course they wouldn't be directed at June, but she understood what it had said. "Time Lord."

The Doctor turned to Rose, who simply stared down at him. Then, he looked at June. June just gaped at him, really not sure what to say, really not sure what to do. He didn't seem to know what to do either, which was an unnerving thought because he prided himself on being smart and clever and knowing how to fix things.

No one had a plan. But June didn't like the idea of being so easily defeated by a pit of living plastic. She didn't think that her life would go down that way. And she was _sure_ that the Doctor's life wasn't supposed to go down that way. June, feeling more useless than she had in a while, did the only thing she could possibly think to do: throw a tantrum. She didn't go full _child being pulled away from a toy they really wanted at a store_ , but she screamed bloody murder and thrashed and kicked against her restraints. She could almost feel her wrists and shoulders popping out of place. Nothing changed.

But then suddenly, the death grip on her wrists became loose. June stumbled, ducking as the Auton that held her in place flipped over her head and right over the edge of the platform, falling into the vat. That Auton was followed by the two others. And when June had regained her balance and turned around, she saw Rose Tyler swinging on a chain over the platform. June had thrown a tantrum. Rose Tyler had actually _done_ something about the whole situation.

The Nestene Consciousness roared much louder than it ever had before. Electric blue shocked and flowed through its body, like large veins lit up against skin. The anti-plastic. It had to be.

She heard the Doctor shout, "Rose!" but June didn't want to turn and look at him. She stared at the struggling Consciousness. There was a bad feeling in her gut. It made her want to throw up. She had struggled and done absolutely nothing. She was used to fighting back and escaping with her gut as her guide, but she hadn't that time and she couldn't make excuses. She hadn't been smart. She hadn't thought anything through. She had been stubborn and she had wanted to be by the Doctor's side when really, she probably should have just listened to him. If she had been free, if she had been standing up there with Rose, things would have gone differently.

The ceiling popped and boomed, and June did register it, just not as much as she should have. The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her along, running for the TARDIS. The Nestene Consciousness screeched and the sound itched against June's mind. They ran up a staircase, June with wobbly legs she was afraid would collapse under her. They ran to the TARDIS. Rose's boyfriend already clung to it desperately. The Doctor opened the TARDIS door and pushed them all inside.

Everything became calm again. The explosions and the screaming of the Consciousness were muffled, but she still heard them. _Oh god, it had died, hadn't it?_ June stayed quiet. The Doctor ran to the console and the TARDIS took off, the familiar wheezing filling the air and blocking out any remaining noise. June sat down on the tattered seat, not exactly collapsing as her mind raced too much to let her.

The Doctor landed the TARDIS a moment later. Rose's boyfriend bolted from the box and Rose followed, pulling her phone out of her pocket and leaving the door open.

June sighed and an involuntary shiver shot down her back. She wanted to hit herself. But she also told herself to get over it, everyone was safe. Everyone but the Nestene Consciousness but she knew that nothing really could have changed what had happened to it besides it deciding to leave Earth peacefully. It didn't take long for the familiar, "Are you alright?" to come from the Doctor.

June looked up at him. He looked concerned. Of course, he was concerned. He had a way of noticing things about people. He had a way of noticing things about her. Maybe he could see her mind racing in her eyes. Maybe he could read her thoughts. Could he? She'd have to ask later. But now, she sat up a little straighter, held two thumps up, and said, "Yep." And he didn't buy it. Of course, he wouldn't buy it. She didn't know why she even tried to lie like that, especially to him. She chuckled to herself and pulled at her hair. "I was useless."

"So was I," the Doctor said. "We were both stuck. Neither of us could escape. You can't blame yourself, though. You thought you were doing the right thing. It just wasn't right in this situation." She wondered if he knew that he only made her feel a bit worse. "It doesn't mean you'll never be right again."

"I think Rose might have some questions still," June said, nodding towards the door. "And you might want to thank her, on both of our behalves." She mostly didn't want to talk about it anymore. She knew he was trying to be helpful and she was thankful that he was, but she just needed a distraction more. Talking it out wasn't really her thing. It felt too awkward.

"Alright," he said. The Doctor nodded, smiled at her, and then went to lean in the TARDIS's doorway.

June took a deep breath and shrugged her backpack off. She glanced at the Doctor, but something, maybe in her gut, maybe in her head, told her that something out there was changing and she didn't want change, not that fast, not when she had just gotten used to everything. So, she looked away from him. She looked at the console with all its buttons and levers and things that could be pulled, pushed, and twirled. But mostly she thought that if she hadn't insisted on going with him, she would have been able to open the TARDIS for Rose and her boyfriend and keep them safe. She would've been able to attack the Autons with her baseball bat and free the Doctor. She would have been of some use. But she couldn't change things. Timelines got messy, apparently, that's what the Doctor had said. So, no going back to change her own mind.

A minute later, the Doctor walked up to the console silently and the TARDIS set off. Both of them stayed quiet. They let the wheezing of the TARDIS ring out without any interruptions. The Doctor walked around the console, pressing controls and looking at the scanner. He didn't say anything. And like he knew when something was going on with her, June could tell when something was going on with him. She couldn't read people as well and she was sure that the Doctor was way too complex of a person to ever be really sure what all of his actions meant, but she could tell when he seemed upset. And it was better to take a chance at comforting someone who wasn't upset than not comforting someone who _was_ upset.

As soon as the wheezing died down, she asked, "What happened?"

He said, "Nothing."

June rolled her eyes. Yeah, he preferred not to talk about himself either. And yet, she egged on. "You were fine and now you're not. What happened?"

"I'm telling you, it's nothing," he insisted.

And that's when it dawned on her. Things had indeed been changing. And she couldn't exactly blame him for how useless she had been. "You asked her to come along with you, didn't you?"

He muttered, "Yeah."

"And she said no," June guessed.

And he nodded. "Yeah."

They were quiet. He was genuinely upset that Rose had decided not to travel with him. Of course, he had been impressed with her after saving them. He had been impressed with June when he found her on that planet. June had been too caught up in her own head to notice much. She did think Rose was nice and brave. And although June did feel a little awkward and was more than a little scared of being pushed out and ignored, Rose had saved them and the rest of the world from the Nestene Consciousness. She deserved a trip. And June had no idea how anyone could pass up the offer of traveling through time and space. She mostly, of course, hated seeing the Doctor upset. So she said, "Aren't you going to go back and convince her?"

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows at her. "She said no."

"Yeah," June said, "but maybe second time's a charm, huh? You left and then came back to get me. Maybe you just have to go back to convince her."

He was quiet, scanning her carefully with narrowed eyes. He crossed his arms. "You're okay with this?"

June shrugged. She liked where they were at. Their casual friendship and misadventures were nice. Rose would either ruin that or make it better. She could survive both. "It's not my choice," she told him. "It's yours."

"Your opinion still matters," the Doctor said.

"Only because you care about me," June said. He still didn't do anything. "Oh, just go back and convince her."

The Doctor gave her one more concerned look and started up the TARDIS again. The wheezing filled the room and the lights flashed against the walls. He gave her a suspicious look because honestly, sometimes he didn't know how she could work the way she did. June, although she had warmed up to him almost immediately (an odd occurrence according to her), was not fond of making new friends. She just clung to the friends she already had. He knew because she talked about her friends from home so often it annoyed him. Although he liked the way her forest-colored eyes brightened just a bit when she was telling a story and laughing through it, so it didn't annoy him all that much. And now, even though he could see the fear in her eyes, she insisted he go back for Rose. He could only guess it was because she wanted him to be happy, even if she fell into the background. He understood yet didn't want to.

When the TARDIS landed, the Doctor ran to the door. June slid off of the chair and walked to the front of the console, watching him go, nervous at what was to come. But he stopped midway to the door. He turned and looked at her. "I know what you're thinking," he said. She raised an eyebrow. "So, I'll ask you this—" he walked back up to her and cupped her face in his hands. June felt herself flush and stumble. He didn't continue until she looked back at him. "—how could I replace my brilliant June Harlow?" And her heart just melted a bit. The Doctor grinned at her one more time and then went for the TARDIS doors again.

June smiled just a bit, looking down at the grated metal floor. Maybe he could read minds. She would really have to ask him. Maybe he could read minds the way she could read her gut. He just _knew_ without really having to hear anything. Because that's how June read her gut. And as she watched him at the door, she just knew that this was it, this was the change. And good or bad, she would be alright in the end even if she had to suffer a bit before that. She leaned against the console and put on a warm smile as the Doctor ran back into the TARDIS, Rose following close behind.

* * *

 **So, how'd you guys like the chapter, huh?**

 **I have no clue when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully soon.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C**


	9. The End of the World (Part 1)

**Hello everyone!**

 **Happy father's day!**

 **I'm back with another chapter! Now, we get to start The End of the World.**

 **I don't have anything else to say, so I won't keep you any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **The End of the World part 1**

Things had officially changed. Rose Tyler gazed around the console room with wide eyes and a grin on her face. June sat on the console room's tattered chair, a song stuck in her head and eyes trained on the blonde. The Doctor stood next to her, tossing a red orb from the console up and down in his hand. He broke the silence that had filled the room. "Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell me. Where do you want to go?" he asked. "Backwards or forwards in time? It's your choice. What's it going to be?"

Much to June's surprise, Rose looked over at her. "What's the best?" she asked.

June chuckled. She didn't exactly know what to say. One wasn't better than the other. She had been to years before her great-great-great grandparents had met and had travelled to years where her present day wasn't even taught in history textbooks. It had all been incredible. June shrugged. "They're both pretty great. It's up to you."

Rose smiled and shook her head. "Forwards," she decided.

The Doctor put the orb back on the console and flicked a few switches. "How far?" he asked.

"One hundred years."

The Doctor spun a wheel, pulled a lever, and turned a knob. The wheezing began and the whole TARDIS shook. June held on tight to the head of the chair as she was bounced around. The Doctor grinned at the two girls and after a moment, turned the knob again and the wheezing died. "There you go," he said. "Step outside those doors, it's the twenty second century."

Rose gaped at him. "You're kidding."

"That's a bit boring, though," the Doctor said. "Do you want to go further?"

Rose grinned. "Fine by me."

The Doctor started up the TARDIS again. The whole machine wheezed and shook for a few moments before dying down again. "Ten thousand years in the future," he said. "Step outside, it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire."

Rose laughed and shook her head. "You think you're so impressive."

"I am so impressive," the Doctor argued. He sounded genuinely offended. It made June roll her eyes. He turned to her. "Aren't I impressive, June?"

June laughed. "It's the places that are impressive," she said. "You just like showing off."

Rose grinned and leaned against the console. "See? You wish you were impressive."

"Right then," he said, "you asked for it. I know exactly where to go." He started up the TARDIS again. "Hold on!"

The whole TARDIS shook, wheezing and flashing its green lights around the room as they flew off to who knows where. The Doctor grinned like a madman and June almost laughed at the pure enthusiasm on his face. Rose, however, seemed completely unsure of what she had gotten herself into. She glanced at June. They looked at each other for a moment, June wondering why the blonde made eye-contact with her in the first place. She gave her a small, comforting smile. Part of the excitement was not knowing where they'd end up.

The TARDIS landed. "Where are we?" Rose asked. The Doctor held his arm out towards the door. Rose glanced between him and the door, grinning. "What's out there?" He raised his eyebrows. Rose smiled again and then bolted for the TARDIS doors.

June hopped off the seat and pulled her backpack on. "Are we somewhere impressive?" she asked, wandering over to the TARDIS doors, the Doctor at her side.

"Of course," the Doctor smiled. "What else would you expect?" She smiled back and then they were quiet for a moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, just silence. The Doctor narrowed his eyes and watched the smile on the girl's face. "You alright?" he asked because she hadn't been a few minutes ago.

"My arms hurt," she told him. "But that's the Auton's fault. Otherwise, I'm good."

"Good."

"And I should say," she stopped in front of the door and looked back at him, "thanks." _'How could I replace my brilliant June Harlow?'_ Yeah, it made her smile.

"You're welcome," he said. "Now go see the future."

And so, June pushed through the TARDIS doors and stepped out into the future.

They stood in a room that gave June ' _fancy space hotel'_ vibes. Everything in the room whether it be the walls, the bleacher like seats, or the tiles were in various shades of either cream or light brown. A metal rectangle sat against the front wall and a door with a bright blue panel sat against the back wall.

The Doctor immediately turned to the blue panel and began to use the sonic screwdriver on it. June stepped down the wooden bleachers and joined Rose. The metal rectangle embedded in the wall in front of them began to slowly drop and reveal a large window which overlooked the Earth. June had seen the sight many times after being trapped in the Silgols' ship, but it still managed to take her breath away, just a bit.

The Doctor joined the girls down in front of the window. "You lot," he started, crossing his arms and staring out the window with them. "You spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take any time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future and this is the day—" he glanced down at his watch, "—hold on—" and suddenly, the sun became blinding, casting its bright red light over the Earth, "—this is the day the sun expands." He looked down at the two girls. "Welcome to the end of the world."

Rose looked shocked and June could understand why, although June didn't feel shocked herself. She always knew that the world would end. It wouldn't end with the predictions of the apocalypse from conspiracy theorists, but in hundreds of thousands of years when no one was left to worry about the destruction of the planet. June just never expected to see it end. She would have never asked the Doctor to take her to the end of the world and yet, here they were.

June chuckled almost nervously and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't fathom the thought that everything she had ever known would be gone. Although, it had been so long that that Earth in front of her probably didn't even qualify as her home anymore. June stepped away from the window. "There should be more to this place, right?" she asked. "Should we explore?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "I thought you'd never ask."

 **~*O*~**

They walked through the empty hallways of the fancy space hotel together, listening to the smooth female voice that echoed around every room and every hallway. "Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation, and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for fifteen thirty-nine followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."

"So, when it says guests, does that mean people?" Rose asked.

"Depends what you mean by people," the Doctor said.

"I mean people," Rose said. "What do you mean?"

"Aliens." The Doctor smiled as they turned a corner.

Rose gaped at him and then gave June a look. June didn't notice her at all. "What kinds?" June asked, a smile on her face. "Like the peaceful kind that'll leave us alone or the kind that'll just go after us for no reason?"

"Dunno," the Doctor admitted. "We should find out soon enough."

"What are they doing on board this spaceship?" Rose asked. "What's it all for?"

The Doctor stopped in front of a green panel on the wall next to a door. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan it. "It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation deck," he corrected. "The great and good are gathering to watch the planet burn."

"What for?" Rose asked.

"Fun."

The door opened and the room on the other side was much grander than the first. The entire back wall and half of the ceiling was a large window that showed off the burning red sun which was about to descend and destroy Earth. The rest of the room was lined with display cases, fancy chandeliers, and large pillars.

"You mean the rich, right?" June asked, gazing around the room. "Because this palace is just too fancy for your average middle-class suburban family."

"Yup," the Doctor confirmed, nodding as they walked to the window. "You're not going to see any middle-aged housewives watching their kids around here." They both snickered.

"But, hold on," Rose said. "They did this once on Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years."

"Millions," the Doctor said, "but the planet's now property of the National Trust." They all stopped in front of the window. Rose gaped out at the sight before her. The Doctor stood with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. June went and pressed her face up against the glass like a kid at the zoo. It felt like she had stepped into the stars and was floating through the air. She eyed the Earth down below and the red skin of the burning sun in the distance. A small tingle of anxiety raced through her body.

"They've been keeping it preserved," the Doctor continued. "See down there? Gravity satellites holding back the sun."

"The planet looks the same as ever," Rose said. June tried to spot California but they were too far above the planet. "I thought the continents shifted and things."

"They did, and the Trust shifted them back," the Doctor explained. "That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."

June glanced back at the Doctor. "This Trust seems like it has a lot of power," she said. "Lots of power, money, and technology." If the Trust had the power to casually shift whole continents, what else did they have the power to do?

"You have no idea, June," the Doctor said. June looked back down at the Earth, the adrenaline-induced anxiety tingling in her stomach as she stared out at the vastness of the galaxy.

"How long's it got?" Rose asked.

"About a half an hour and then the planet gets roasted," the Doctor told her.

"Is that why we're here?" she asked. "I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last moment and save the Earth?"

"I'm not saving it," the Doctor said. "Time's up."

June turned to him. "Wow," she said. "First time I've heard you say that." He simply shrugged at her.

"But what about the people?" Rose asked.

"It's empty," the Doctor said. "They're all gone. No one left." The once overpopulated, overcrowded planet was now completely empty of all life. It was difficult to picture the deserted cities and suburbs and the lonely highways and overgrown trees. June shouldn't've been alive to see it all happen. It felt wrong standing there just letting it.

"It's just us, then," Rose said. Her eyes were trained on June.

June stayed silent but nodded. She glanced over her shoulder back down at the Earth. She and Rose were the only humans left in the Milky Way… most likely. She didn't know for sure. She didn't know what planet humans could have traveled to by the year five point five apple slash dash whatever. They didn't need special opportunities to touch the stars and see different life on different planets. Their lives were something that the humans in June's day would never have.

"Hey," June said, looking over at the Doctor. "Do you think they have a room with a glass floor around here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were afraid of heights."

June shrugged and nodded. "Well, yeah, I am. But standing over a glass floor, looking down at the Earth would be kinda trippy. Like, I know I'm safe, but there's that nervous tingle and the feeling of your stomach dropping. It's kind of exhilarating, you know?"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Yeah, I do."

"Who the hell are you?"

The three of them turned to find the source of the new voice. A tall, blue man was walking towards them, staring in angry astonishment.

"Oh, that's nice, thanks," the Doctor muttered sarcastically.

"You can talk," June snorted as she went to stand with them.

"But how did you get in?" the man asked. "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now."

"That's me," the Doctor said. "I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation." He held up the shabby brown wallet the psychic paper inside. "Look. There, you see? It's fine, you see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is June Harlow—" he nodded at June, "—and this is Rose Tyler," he nodded at Rose. "They're my plus two. Is that alright?"

The man stared at them for a moment. "Well, obviously," he said. "Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." And then he turned and walked away.

"The paper's slightly psychic," the Doctor told Rose, showing her the wallet. "It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

"He's blue," Rose said.

"Yeah." The Doctor smiled and nodded.

"I bet the psychic paper makes getting a fake ID much easier," June muttered.

"What do you need a fake ID for?" the Doctor asked. "You're twenty-two."

"Almost twenty-three," June corrected. "And it's just a thought." She shrugged.

"We have in attendance the Doctor, June Harlow, and Rose Tyler," the man announced from behind a glass podium. "Thank you. All staff to their positions." He clapped his hands together. A crowd of small blue people dressed in black swarmed through the room, tunneling through the door. Two stayed behind as guards.

"Space Oompa Loompas," June noted under her breath.

"You can't just put ' _space_ ' in front of things that already exist to describe alien species," the Doctor told her.

"But they're like space Oompa Loompas," she said again, frowning at him. They were Oompa Loompas in space. There was no other way to describe them. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"And now, might I introduce the next honored guest?" the man said. "Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely Jabe, Lute, and Coffa." The clouded glass double doors slid open to reveal three people. Except they weren't exactly people. They were humanoid but completely made of tree bark. What impressed June the most was their faces and how they were just pressed into the middle of smooth bark and managed to move around like normal. They all walked with an air of importance and solemnity.

"There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace," the man continued. "If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon."

The Moxx of Balhoon looked interesting to say the least. He hovered through the doors on a floating disk. He was a fat, bright blue midget with a tall, oddly shaped head and a sharp chin. His eyes were small and beady and surrounded by red rings like the bags that would cumulate under someone's eyes after days without sleep. His nose was a snout between his eyes and his eyebrows seemed permanently pointed down.

"And next, from the Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." A crowd of tall people covered in black hoods walked, or maybe floated, into the room. The rest of their appearances were completely hidden.

"Inventors of Hypo-slip Travel Systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you." They were reptilian, fish looking people in fur robes.

More and more aliens filled the room as the blue man introduced them. "Cal Spark Plug. Mr. and Mrs. Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding light."

The Doctor wore a huge grin on his face. Rose stared at everyone wide-eyed and shocked. June smiled. Everyone was very fascinating to observe. All the strange aliens who came into the room seemed like they were a part some sort of crazy dream or hallucination.

The trees walked up to the three of them. The woman, June had assumed that she was Jabe because she seemed like the leader, smiled at them. "The Gift of Peace," she said as one of the tree men following her handed her a pot with a twig in it. "I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather."

"Thank you," the Doctor said. He sounded genuinely surprised which wasn't a thing that happened often. He handed the twig to June. She looked at the tiny tree for a moment. The tiny tree was a part of a bigger tree-person who had a whole tree family. It was very weird to think about but it made her smile.

"Yes, gifts," the Doctor said. He patted the pockets of his jacket and gave June a nervous look. June shrugged.

Rose tapped June's arm and she leaned backwards to see her. "Let me see the tree," she whispered. June passed her the twig.

"Er, I give you in return air from my lungs," the Doctor said. June gaped at him, wondering if those words had really come out of his mouth. Without a moment of hesitation, if not a little awkwardly, the Doctor leaned over and gently breathed on Jabe. June continued to gape at him.

Jabe looked shocked. A slow smile spread across her face. June furrowed her eyebrows at her. "How intimate," Jabe said, smiling at the Doctor. How had she _liked_ that?

"There's more where that came from," the Doctor told her.

Jabe gave him a quick once-over. "I bet there is."

The trees walked away, June gaping after them. She hit the Doctor's arm. He frowned down at her. "What the hell was that?" June asked.

"The Gift of Peace," the Doctor said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Air from my lungs." He grinned at her.

"Weird gift," June pointed out. "Don't breathe on people. Most people don't like being breathed on. How did she like that? You breathed on a tree-woman and she flirted with you." The Doctor nodded. "What the hell?"

"It's a good gift," the Doctor argued, beaming down at her.

"Is this normal?" Rose asked, leaning over to look between the two.

"The weird, out-of-place ideas, yes," June said. The Doctor frowned at her because he, of course, thought he was always quite brilliant. "The breathing on people, no." June chuckled to herself for a moment. She looked up at the Doctor and shook her head. "You're ridiculous sometimes, you know that, right?"

"I keep your life interesting," he reminded her. June shook her head but she knew that he really did.

"From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe."

June turned to look at the sponsor. She just felt like she had to. A giant tank slid into the room. Inside the tank was a giant face. June gaped at it. The face was humanoid and about a hundred times larger than a normal face. Its skin was green and covered in wrinkles and cracks and even had a small cleft in its chin. And what seemed to be its hair wasn't really hair. She didn't know what they could actually be. They were just long strands of something in the same color of its skin. At the end of each strand was a green colored ball. The Face of Boe. She'd have to remember that name.

"The Moxx of Balhoon," the Doctor said with a smile. June looked down to see the Moxx rolling up to them.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance." His voice was high pitched and had a slight accent to it. The Doctor leaned down and nodded as he talked. "I give you the gift of bodily salivas." The Moxx of Balhoon spat into the air. Rose gasped and winced, a hand over her face. June hissed softly, cringing in sympathy.

"Thank you very much," the Doctor grinned, stifling a laugh. June nudged him and shook her head, though his attempts at not laughing made her want to laugh.

The group of black robes floated up to them. "Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed. "The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." He leaned over and breathed on them, quite exaggeratedly. June rolled her eyes.

"A gift of peace in all good faith," one of the aliens said, its voice low and breathy. A large metal hand held a silver ball up to them. The hand itself seemed menacing, the fingers almost curved into claws, but the Doctor didn't seem to mind it as he took the silver ball happily. He tossed it up in the air and caught it with a smile. Then, he tossed the silver ball over to June. She fumbled but caught it ad turned it over in her hands a few times. There was nothing special about it at all. So, she handed it back over to the Doctor, who handed it to Rose.

"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last human." The doors opened. "The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

The Lady Cassandra O'Brien, the last human, was a piece of skin. June's jaw dropped. Lady Cassandra was two blue eyes and a mouth pressed into a translucent piece of skin held up by a silver frame being wheeled around by two assistants with hazmat suits and holding silver equipment in their hands. Lady Cassandra was humanity gone wrong.

"She's human?" June whispered to the Doctor.

"Yep," he said with a smile. "Just like you and Rose." June and Rose exchanged looks. Rose looked just as perplexed as June felt.

"Oh, now, don't stare," Lady Cassandra said as she rolled into the middle of the room. "I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it?" The Doctor laughed as he looked between the two shocked girls. "I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty." Lady Cassandra seemed very pleased with herself. Her smile made June uncomfortable. There was something off about her, something just edging on obvious. "I don't look a day over two thousand."

"That's _not_ normal," June muttered, cringing at the sight of her.

"Moisturize me," Lady Cassandra ordered. "Moisturize me." One of her assistants held up the large silver device in their hand and began to spray her. June frowned and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Truly, I am the last human," she continued. Rose slowly walked closer to Lady Cassandra, attempting to get a better look at her. "My father was a Texan; my mother was from the Artic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honor them and say goodbye." Her voice wilted and she began to tear up. One of her assistants pulled out a tissue and began dabbing it under her eyes. "Oh, no tears, no tears," she muttered. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment. Suddenly, she sounded completely fine again, like nothing had happened at all. "But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg."

One of the space Oompa Loompas brought out a large orange-brown egg. It walked around the room, showing it off to all the guests gathered around in the crowd.

"Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils," Lady Cassandra said. June frowned. They must not have ostriches wherever the humans relocated to because _'legend'_ was very wrong. "Or was that my third husband?" Lady Cassandra asked. There were a few laughs. Much to June's surprise, even the Doctor laughed a little. June supposed that it was different for him. He could laugh instead of being speechless. He wasn't looking at the last, misshapen member of his kind. He couldn't ever see that. It was at least nice to know that humans lived on, no matter how off-putting Lady Cassandra was.

"Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh," Lady Cassandra giggled. "I'll get laughter lines." More space Oompa Loompas walked into the room, this time, all pushing a Jukebox in front of them. June hadn't see Jukeboxes many times in her life, but she always loved them. It was nice to see that music was still there throughout decades and centuries, even when the Earth was about to be destroyed, the music from it continued, connecting everyone who had and whoever will hear it. "And here, another rarity," Lady Cassandra announced. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod."

June snorted much louder than she meant to and clapped a hand over her mouth. _'An iPod.'_ She grabbed the Doctor's arm and shook it. He was already looking down at her with an amused smile. "An iPod," she whispered to him, voice shaky with laughter.

"It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers," Lady Cassandra explained. "Play on!"

One of the space Oompa Loompas pressed a button on the Jukebox and a record was set into place. _Tainted Love_ began to play. June kept her hand tight over her mouth, desperate to control her laughter. Out of every great song in existence, they were listening to _Tainted Love_ right before the Earth was destroyed by the sun. She looked over to the Doctor because, _'Can you believe it?'_ only to see him dancing, just a bit. June tugged on his sleeve and let her laughter come out in hiccups and gasps. The Doctor grinned, happy to see her laughing so much.

"Refreshments will now be served," the blue man announced. "Earth Death in thirty minutes."

"Are you okay there?" the Doctor asked.

"No," June gasped. She quietly sang, ' _Run away,'_ along with the song before breaking down in laughter again.

The Doctor laughed along with her for a moment before going completely quiet. "Come on," he said, grabbing June's hand. The serious tone of his voice made June force herself to stop laughing. "Rose just ran out of the room."

June scanned the room, looking for the familiar blonde, but she was nowhere to be seen. She felt bad for her. She understood how this could be such a shocking first trip. She remembered how speechless and overwhelmed she had been after her first trip. June nodded. "We should probably find her."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. They started across the room.

"Doctor?" Jabe called, running up to them. She held a sliver device in her hand and when the Doctor and June stopped and faced her, she held the device up and it flashed like a camera. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

Neither of them said anything. June watched the tree woman out of the corner of her eye as they left the room, wondering what she had done and why she was staring at the device so intently. The doors shut behind them and closed off her view. June turned her attention to the Doctor and finding Rose, wherever she was hidden in the large space station.

* * *

 **There we go! The End of the World part 1!**

 **How'd you like it?**

 **The next chapter should be up within a week, so look out for that!**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	10. The End of the World (Part 2)

**Hello everyone!**

 **Back with a new chapter!**

 **I should say, before this chapter starts, that I just got a new job so I might not have all the free time in the world to write and edit, so as soon as I run out of prewritten chapters (a lot of these chapters have been written months in advance and I've only just gone back and edited them), it might take me a little longer to upload. But, nothing should change for the next few weeks.**

 **Anyway,**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **The End of the World part 2**

The Doctor and June walked through the empty hallways of the observation deck. They hadn't seen Rose since she had left the observation gallery. "You know," June said, "I can't think any of this is too weird anymore." She glanced at the Doctor. "The travelling and the aliens."

"Yeah, I guessed," the Doctor said. "You got used to it fast."

June sighed. "I hope she's alright."

"I'm sure she's fine," the Doctor said. "Just suffering from culture shock, that's all."

Culture shock. June remembered Lady Cassandra. The last human they had called her. "Was she really human?" June asked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "Lady Cassandra O'—whatever. The last human. She didn't seem so human to me."

"No?" he asked.

"No," she confirmed. "She's just a piece of skin with parts of a face. She can't tell the difference between an iPod and a Jukebox. She doesn't even know what an ostrich is. Those are normal things to know about." June sighed. "Maybe it's just me."

"Humans don't have those things anymore," the Doctor told her. "They don't need them. And ostriches went extinct hundreds of years ago. It's not normal for them to know about those things."

"So it _is_ just me."

"Yup," he said. "And Rose too, probably."

"Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery fifteen please report to the Steward's office immediately," the blue man's—the Steward's—voice asked over the announcements. The Doctor groaned in annoyance. "Guests are reminded that use of teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty five point four slash cup slash sixteen. Thank you."

"Detour?" June guessed.

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed.

 **~*O*~**

"Oi, now, careful with that," the Doctor snapped at the space Oompa Loompas as they wheeled the TARDIS away. "Park it properly. No scratches."

One of the small blue men came up to them. He held out a small silver ticket. The Doctor took it and read it quickly. June tried to peer over his shoulder, so he turned it so she could see it better. She could just barely make out the writing. The letters looked English, but extra lines and dots were added around. "Have A Nice Day." The Doctor and June exchanged looks and then continued on their way to find Rose.

 **~*O*~**

They could hear a young woman's voice from behind a closed gallery door. "Rose?" the Doctor called. "Are you in there?"

The door slid open and they found Rose sitting in another small private gallery similar to the one they had landed in. She sat on a glowing bleacher seat with the Gifts of Peace next to her. She gave them an unenthusiastic smile as they joined her.

June sat down on the small aisle steps between Rose and Doctor, who sat on another one of the glowing bleacher seats. She could see space outside the window. The sight felt oddly calming yet exhilarating all at the same time.

"What do you think, then?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Great," Rose said. Her voice was stiff and quiet. "Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly physic paper." The Doctor laughed at that. "They're just so alien," she continued after a moment. "The aliens are so alien. You look at 'em and they're alien."

June nodded. "Yeah, that's how it works."

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South," the Doctor said.

Rose leaned back, frowning at him. "Where are you from?" she asked. The Doctor suddenly seemed to want to look anywhere else in the room instead of right at the blonde. June sighed. Getting an answer to that question had been such a struggle.

"All over the place." He looked down.

"They all speak English," Rose noted.

"No, you just hear English." He leaned over, resting on one of his arms and propping one of his legs up on the seat. June snickered at him. "It's a gift of the TARDIS," he explained. "The telepathic field gets inside your brain and translates."

"Are you really going to lay that way?" June asked.

He frowned at her. "What's wrong with the way I'm laying?" he asked.

"Draw me like one of your French girls," June mocked, laughing at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, stop making fun."

"It's inside my brain?" Rose didn't sound pleased.

"Well, in a good way," the Doctor said.

"You get used to it," June muttered. She had a bad feeling that things were about to go downhill.

"Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind and you didn't even ask?" Rose snapped at him.

The Doctor and June exchanged looks. "I didn't think about it like that," he said.

"No, you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South!" Rose exclaimed. June froze. She suddenly felt very awkward. "Who are you, then, Doctor?" she asked. The Doctor sat up and looked away from her. "What are you called? What sort of alien are you?" June let out a breath and wished she had some sort of hood to pull over her face.

"I'm just the Doctor," he grumbled.

"From what planet?" she asked.

"Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!" he exclaimed, scoffing and trying his best to avoid the question. June rubbed her face and sighed into her hands.

"Where are you from?" Rose asked again.

"What does it matter?" the Doctor countered.

"Tell me who you are!" she exclaimed.

"This is who I am, right here, right now, alright? All that counts is right here and now, and this is me!" he shouted.

"Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me!" Rose shouted back.

"Stop yelling at each other!" June shouted. She couldn't handle their yelling in her ears especially when it was so unnecessary. Oh, the misunderstandings would be the end of them all. They were all silent for a moment. The Doctor stood up and walked down to the window. June rolled her eyes at the dramatics, but still stood up to join him.

 **~*O*~**

 _The Doctor and June walked into the TARDIS. The silence between them was tense and unbearable. The Doctor didn't waste any time running up to the console and sending the TARDIS off into space, the odd wheezing noise filling the silence of the room. June sat down on the tattered console room chair and ran a hand through her hair. The Doctor smiled an obviously forced smile at her from the other side of the console, but she didn't smile back._

 _The silence became thick again once the wheezing died down. "Where to next?" the Doctor asked._

 _June stared silently at him. She felt so tired of his damn stubbornness. "Answer my questions," she said. The Doctor frowned._

 _Their last trip hadn't gone exactly as planned. They had landed in a future city to see diamond replicas of the Egyptian pyramids. Things had been fine. The pyramids had been so dazzling that they had had to wear special glasses just to look right at them and they were having a great time. However, things quickly went downhill. They had run into a group of aliens who immediately went after the Doctor because he was apparently impossible. They had run of course, they were always running. But they had gotten separated at some point and as soon as the aliens had a chance, they had grabbed June. They had tied her up in one of the diamond pyramids and even attached explosives to her for '_ security.' _They knew that the Doctor would come looking for his companion. And he did, of course. It took a while, but he managed to drive the aliens away before anything worse could happen. However, disarming the explosives that were slowly ticking down on June's back had become a challenge when the sonic screwdriver hadn't worked on them._

 _June had freaked out, like anyone whould with explosives wired to them. The Doctor had tried to calm her down and asked her if she trusted him, of course, expecting a positive answer. June told him that she didn't. How could you trust someone if you didn't know anything about them? How could you trust someone if they stayed silent about the most basic information after a week of spending every day with them? The Doctor managed to disarm the explosives before they went off with only a second to spare. He had hoped that she would drop the questions when they went back to the TARDIS, but she was now facing him again and he knew that he wasn't going to get that lucky. Even if he didn't answer any of her questions, he would have to think about it._

 _"I'll choose if you're not going to," the Doctor said, ignoring her demand._

 _June groaned. "Doctor," she whined, "you've got to tell me who you are."_

 _He walked around the console. "You know who I am."_

 _"I know that you're an alien called the Doctor," June said. "I know you've got this spaceship time machine called the TARDIS. I know that it stands for Time and Relative something or other."_

 _"Time and Relative Dimension in Space," the Doctor interrupted._

 _"Not the point!" June exclaimed. "I know you like bananas, I know you don't sleep, but that's about it. I need like, a basic profile, you know?"_

 _"A profile?" he asked, raising an eyebrow._

 _"I don't know if that's actually what it would be called or not, but it doesn't matter," June rambled. "It's like, um: My name is June Harlow. I'm twenty-two years old. I was born on February 11th 1995. I was born and grew up in Anaheim, California. I went to the California University of the Arts for college. Basic things you learn in the first conversation or two with someone." The Doctor continued to frown at her. "You won't even tell me what kind of alien you are!"_

 _"It doesn't matter," he grumbled._

 _June scoffed. "It does to!" she argued. "Considering I'm traveling with you through time and space and I might have to trust you with my life again, I think that I should know." There was silence. "What's so wrong with me knowing?"_

 _"It's complicated, June," the Doctor said as he flicked a switch on the console. He wished that she would just accept it. Getting him to talk about who he was and where he was from would open a whole can of worms. If she found out what he had done… he wasn't sure that she would stay._

 _"You always say that, though," June said. "I don't care if it's complicated. I'm not an idiot so I think I can understand!"_

 _He glared at her. "No, you really couldn't," he snapped._

 _"You've got to tell me!" she argued. She wasn't quite sure what to say to convince him. He was so stubborn and so defensive. It felt like he was hiding something. Although June couldn't understand what. He was usually such a kind, optimistic person. How bad could his past be?"_

 _"I don't_ 'got' _to do anything," he argued back._

 _June sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, listen," she said. "I know you don't want to tell me, but I can't not know. I took a risk when I agreed to travel with you. You were a complete stranger to me, but I thought that we would get to know each other over time. And you know a shit-ton about me and my life, but I know absolutely nothing about you. You can't just not tell me what you are and where you're from. I'm not gonna make you tell me every single little secret about yourself and your past. But I will not keep traveling with you if you won't answer those questions." Her words kept coming out sharper and sharper, like they could pierce the skin. "I need to know. Because traveling with you without that information is a stupid risk to take. It's like hitchhiking. Traveling with a complete stranger. It's stupid and dangerous and I could end up dead. Do you understand?"_

 _The Doctor stayed quiet. He understood why she was so concerned. If he didn't tell her, she would leave. If she found out too much, she would leave. And he really hated losing friends. He sighed and walked around, leaning on the console in front of her. He crossed his arms and frowned at her. "Alright. If you're going to be that insistent, I'll tell you." He kind of expected a_ 'thank you' _or at least a smile. Instead, she raised her eyebrows at him, silently telling him to just tell her already. "I'm a Time Lord."_

 _June nodded. "Okay. Time Lord. Fancy name." She finally smiled a bit. "Then why do you look human?"_

 _"I don't look human," the Doctor argued. "You look Time Lord. We were here first. And we're a lot different from you lot, so don't go comparing us to you."_

 _"A little offensive, but okay," she muttered. "How are you different though? I mean, besides being so much more annoying."_

 _He shot her a look, although a little relieved that she was joking around again. "Not the basics," he reminded her._

 _"I'm curious."_

 _"Curiosity killed the cat."_

 _"But satisfaction brought it back." She smirked._

 _"Alright, I'll give you that," he said. "One example." He gave her the most basic, yet impressive example he could think of. "We have two hearts."_

 _"Two hearts?" June asked. She wondered if two hearts could even fit in one body._

 _"Yeah," he said._

 _She glanced down at his chest, narrowing her eyes as if expecting to be able to see the second heart. "Don't believe you."_

 _"Here." He took her hands and put them on his chest, right over his hearts._

 _June froze as she felt the double heartbeat beneath her palms. She wanted to draw her hands away, but she felt that if she did that it wouldn't be real anymore. She stared at him, her mouth agape, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. After a moment and a confident smile from the Doctor, she laughed. "You have two hearts," she breathed._

 _"Yeah." He couldn't help but smile at the astonished smile on her face. How it stretched out over her lips, how her forest-green eyes went wide and sparkled._

 _"That's weird," she said, beaming at him._

 _"It's weird that you only have one," he retorted._

 _She finally drew her hands away. "Okay, but you still have to answer my second question," June reminded, focusing back on the issue at hand. "Where are you from?"_

 _Any enthusiasm coming from the Doctor quickly died. His eyes grew sad—that was the only way June could describe it. He looked down at the floor. June furrowed her eyebrows. There was something wrong. She could feel it in her gut, but did she dare push it after already pushing for answers. He looked up after a moment and simply said, "Gallifrey."_

 _"Gallifrey," June repeated. She smiled, imagining what Gallifrey could possibly be like. It must be magnificent considering it was his home. "I bet it's great."_

 _The Doctor nodded. "Yeah." He looked away again. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He moved back around the console in silence._

 _"Okay," she said. "I got the information I wanted. Thanks." They exchanged small smiles. "I only have more questions now but I won't ask them."_

 _"Good," he said. "Now, where to next?"_

 _"You choose." She had to give him that. He had answered her questions and despite her growing curiosity, she wouldn't push, she could be satisfied with what she got. He could choose. The trips turned out a lot more interesting when he did anyway._

 _"How do you feel," he said, "about a 50's themed diner that floats through space?"_

 _June smiled. "Sounds stellar."_

 **~*O*~**

June stood next to the Doctor, watching the grim look on his face. The computer's mechanical voice crackled through the speakers. "Earth Death in twenty minutes. Earth Death in twenty minutes."

Rose joined them after a moment. "Alright," she said. "As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." The Doctor smiled. June smiled too, just happy that the tension was over. "Can't exactly call for a taxi," Rose said as she looked down at her phone screen. "There's no signal. We're out of range. Just a bit."

"Tell you what." The Doctor grabbed the phone from her.

"Are you gonna zap it?" June asked.

"Kinda," he muttered.

"What?" Rose asked.

"He's gonna kinda zap it," June told her.

"With a little jiggery pokery." The Doctor took the phone apart, breaking through its thick casing. June hadn't seen a phone that looked like Rose's in years. It looked ancient but should've only been a little over ten years old.

"Is that a technical term, jiggery pokery?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery. What about you?" he asked.

"No, I failed hullabloo," Rose said.

"Oh."

"Oh, you two are _so_ witty," June muttered, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"I know," the Doctor said. He put a small black device into Rose's phone. June frowned at it. "The process is a bit different because your phones are so different," he explained upon noticing her confusion. "There you go." He handed Rose her phone.

She stared at her phone for a moment before pressing it to her ear. There was silence and then, "Mum?" She walked away, plugging her other ear, hoping to hear her mother better.

June almost laughed when she noticed the Doctor's grin. "Oh, you love showing off."

The Doctor shrugged. "You were impressed when I zapped your phone," he said.

"Hold on," she said. She dug her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. The lock screen showed the image of a shakily drawn guitar against a bright yellow background. The date was so long that it was squished together just to fit on the screen and June had no clue what any of it meant. The time, however, simply read 3:20. "At least I don't have to look at military time," she muttered. "Nothing else makes sense though."

"They stopped using the months and weekdays you're used to hundreds of years ago," the Doctor told her.

June sighed. "Of course, they did." Nothing would be the same, would it?

"No, I'm fine," Rose told her mom. "Top of the world."

"Ba-dum ching." June mimicked drums. The Doctor laughed.

Rose hung up the phone and stared out the window, mouth agape. "Think that's amazing, you want to see the bill," the Doctor said.

"That was five billion years ago," Rose muttered. "So, she's dead now." The Doctor frowned. June nodded. "Five billion years later, my mom's dead."

"Bundle of laughs, you are," the Doctor said.

"Technically we're all dead," June said.

"Don't add to it," the Doctor scolded.

"Think about it," June said. "Five billion years in the future. Everything anyone now, at least in my day, is waiting to see is far back in history. You think the humans, where ever they are, have a bunch of old movies and books and albums? I could see everything I wanted early."

"That's probably not a good idea," the Doctor said. "And everything from your lifetime is lost to them. Why would they have a movie or an album that's five billion years old?"

"I guess they wouldn't," June muttered.

Suddenly, the whole observation deck shook underneath their feet. June shrieked and almost jumped but the whole deck stilled a quick moment later. "That's not supposed to happen," the Doctor said with a curious smile.

"Is the trouble starting?" June asked. "Are we always going to run into some sort of trouble?"

The Steward's voice rang out over the speakers. "Honored guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you."

"Gravity pockets?" June asked. The term sounded weird. Did little pockets of gravity just float around in space? "Why doesn't that make sense?"

"Let's go rejoin the party." The Doctor smiled at the two girls and headed towards the door.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor, June, and Rose walked back into the observation gallery. The party was still in full swing and none of the aliens were paying attention to the Earth despite how doom slowly approached it. The Doctor immediately found a blue panel next to the door and began to inspect it. "That wasn't a gravity pocket. I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that."

"Gravity pockets are really a thing?" June asked.

"Of course, they are, why wouldn't they be?" the Doctor asked.

"They sound made up," she said.

"Well they're not." He turned around and asked, "What do you think, Jabe?" The tree-woman had walked up to them. June wasn't sure why or what she wanted. "Listen to the engines," the Doctor said. "They've pitched up about thirty Hertz. That dodgy or what?"

Jabe listened for a moment. "It's the sound of metal. It doesn't make any sense to me."

The Doctor smiled. "Where's the engine room?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jabe said. "But the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your wife." Jabe nodded at June.

Everything suddenly came to a screeching halt. "I'm sorry?" June asked, feeling just a bit frozen in place. She hoped that she hadn't heard right.

"She's not my wife," the Doctor said. June cringed, realizing that she had not been mistaken.

"Partner?" Jabe asked. June didn't usually tell strangers to shut up, though she was really considering it in the moment.

"No."

It kept getting worse. "Concubine?"

"Nope."

"Prostitute?"

"No!" June exclaimed. "No, no, no, no, no, no, _no_." Jabe seemed baffled by June's outburst. "We're friends. What do you think this is, _When Harry Met Sally_?" June laughed. "It's not and now things are awkward."

"It's only awkward because you said it's awkward," the Doctor argued.

"Oh, shut up," June grumbled. "I am leaving. You guys can do all the fun investigating." The Doctor frowned at her and June rolled her eyes.

"How about we go catch up with the family?" Rose suggested. June frowned at her. ' _The family?_ ' "Quick word with Michael Jackson." She pointed at Lady Cassandra.

"That's an insult to Michael Jackson," June said. "But," she sighed, "yeah fine."

"Don't start a fight," the Doctor warned as Rose and June walked towards their target. He offered his arm to Jabe. "I'm all yours." June rolled her eyes. Jabe looped her arm through his and they began out of the room.

"And I want you home by midnight!" Rose called after him. June snickered and the Doctor glanced back at them before the doors shut behind him.

"Earth Death in fifteen minutes," the computer announced. "Earth Death in fifteen minutes."

June and Rose shuffled across the room towards Lady Cassandra. June shoved her hands in her pockets. She had been sort of looking forward to the trouble at least the investigating part of it. Solving problems and looking at everything behind the scenes instead of seeing just the presented cover. But, give it up to awkward social situations and horrible misunderstandings to get in the way of that.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked. "You seem quiet."

June snickered. "I am quiet. And yeah, I'm fine, just annoyed."

"And a little embarrassed?" Rose guessed, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," she laughed, rubbing a hand against her face. "I just wanted to see what's up, but I guess now I have to give it a little breathing time. I'll tell you what though." She wanted to quickly change the subject. "I am not looking forward to our conversation with her." She glanced at Lady Cassandra.

"How bad can it be?" Rose asked, although she didn't seem that excited herself.

"Keep that attitude," June told her. "You can do the talking. I'd much rather just observe and avoid tripping over myself."

"Fair enough," Rose shrugged.

 **~*O*~**

"Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die," Lady Cassandra said as they all stood by the window, gazing down at their home planet. "That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy, down there. Mummy and daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice."

"Oh, not LA," June whined quietly at the thought of a huge hole in the spot of one of her favorite cities.

"I'd have such fun," Lady Cassandra sighed.

"What happened to everyone else?" Rose asked. "The human race, where did it go?"

"They say mankind has touched every star in the sky," Lady Cassandra said.

"So, you're not the last human," Rose said, glancing over at June like she was the fact-checker. June just shrugged. Why wouldn't humans be elsewhere in the universe?

"I am the last _pure_ human," Lady Cassandra said, glancing sideways at Rose. June snickered and gave her a quick once-over. ' _Pure'_ , sure, and June was an alien. "The others _mingled._ " She spat the word out like it tasted sour on her tongue. "Oh, they call themselves new humans and Proto-humans and Digi-humans, even ' _humanish_ ,' but do you know what I call them?" She paused like she was waiting for one of the girls to answer. Neither of them did. "Mongrels."

"Right," Rose muttered. She glanced back at June, her eyes wide, almost saying ' _Can you believe this?_ ' "And you stayed behind."

"I kept myself pure," Cassandra said. June scoffed. She had heard many ridiculous things not only during her travels with the Doctor, but throughout her life as well. But, as she stood there with Rose, both of them born on the same Earth, both of them as human as humans came, talking with—well, June was listening to Rose's conversation with Cassandra, but it didn't matter because June had not heard anything more ridiculous than Cassandra's comment.

"How many operations have you had?" Rose asked.

"Seven hundred and eight," Cassandra said. Her answer didn't exactly seem real. June wasn't convinced that Cassandra had once had a body like June and Rose and had altered it so badly that she was just a piece of stretched out skin with a face. It was almost like a part of her wanted Cassandra to have been born like that because it put her further from being the same species as the vain woman. She knew that the thought was a horrible one to have. It made her feel rather cruel and judgmental but the mind worked in weird ways when it didn't understand someone else's motives.

"Next week it's seven hundred and nine. I'm having my blood bleached," Cassandra continued. The thought made June cringe. If hair bleaching became bad after a while, how horrible could blood bleaching be? "Is that why you two wanted a word? You girls could be flatter. You both have got a little bit of a chin poking out."

June pressed a hand to her stomach. She wasn't sure if she could even be flatter without removing her organs and bones. People had poked at her stick-thinness all her life because no one could be happy with anything. God forbid girls be too fat or too thin. Girls she had gone to school with would marvel at her lack of weight and how her ribs poked out against her skin, like they were jealous and wanted to be skin and bone. Adults were scared that she wasn't eating no matter how many times she and her parents stressed that she was healthy. She wondered why people wanted to look as unhealthy as she did. Because she had spent a lot of her life eating and eating hoping to not look like a walking stick figure (it hadn't worked).

Rose shook her head. "I'd rather die."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," June muttered. That earned a small smile from the blonde.

"Honestly, it doesn't hurt," Cassandra insisted.

Rose laughed stiffly. "No, I mean it," she said. "I would rather die. It's better to die than to live like you, a bitchy trampoline."

June laughed and grinned wildly at the insult. Rose smiled at June because it was almost like a quiet approval coming from her. Cassandra narrowed her eyes at them. June went quiet at the sight of her glare. She didn't feel any sympathy for the woman. Trampoline or not, she was still bitchy and that usually didn't have any secret insecure motive behind it.

"Oh, well. What do you know?" Cassandra scoffed.

June just glared at the woman but Rose became so much angrier. "I was born on that planet," Rose snapped, "and so was my mum, and so was my dad, and that makes me officially the last human being in this room."

June coughed. "I'm still here," she muttered. She knew it had simply been a slip up but decided she had better things to do than be forgotten about, like being representation of a real human being.

"Right," Rose said. "And June was born on Earth too, just like I was." June nodded. "So that makes us officially the last human beings in this room. 'Cos you're not human. Anything human got chucked in the bin! You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin."

"You've lost so much of your humanity that you're alien," June muttered. The whole point of being human was to be happy with your life and the world around you and Cassandra threw everything that made her human away.

"Nice talking," Rose grumbled. She stormed away and June followed along after her, hoping that the blonde wasn't letting Cassandra get her so angry.

They walked through the empty halls of the observation deck together. June wondered what the Doctor and Jabe were up to. She would've much preferred to go investigating than to be contemplating life as a human and at what point you became so alien that you couldn't be considered human anymore.

"She started off human," Rose said through gritted teeth.

June nodded. "Yeah."

"Just like you and me," Rose continued. June nodded again. "How?" Rose wondered. She looked at June as if she expected her to have the answer. June gaped at her because she didn't have any of the answers. Rose watcher her shrug and shake her head. "Is that what every human is like in the future. Nipped and tucked and _flat_?" She spat out the word like it made her sick.

"I don't think so," June said. Rose's anger softened and the bushy haired brunette attempted a small smile. "I haven't gone to the future a lot," she muttered. "But, I don't think so. There might be more people like Cassandra out there, but I bet there are more humans who are against those actions and teaching others to love themselves." It happened in her day so she could still hope that the future didn't change everything.

Rose was quiet, pondering June's words. "I've gotta sit down," she muttered after a moment.

June nodded. "Alright," she said. "I think I'm going to go find the Doctor. I need to be doing something." Doing something meant distractions from too much contemplation and increasing the chance of not being so useless this time around. She assumed that there had been enough breathing time between now and the awkward interaction and if there hadn't, she'd just blend so quietly into the background that they would forget that she was even there. "It might be a bit of a stupid idea, but yeah, I think I'm going to."

"Alright, well, good luck," Rose said. She smiled a small smile.

"Yeah you too."

They took separate turns.

* * *

 **Alright! That was it for this chapter!**

 **Chapter 11 should be coming within the next week,**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	11. The End of the World (Part 3)

**Hello, everyone!**

 **Here is the last chapter of The End of the World.**

 **Next week we start on The Unquiet Dead.**

 **I do really like this chapter, which is rare because I never really like a lot of my writing. So I hope you guys like it too. I think it turned out really good.**

 **Also, did you guys see the series 11 leaks? I'm kinda fond of spoilers because I will literally freak out over surprises in a show or a movie or a book that I like and I prefer not to have a break down while watching something. But I also like the hype. Seeing spoilers and leaks makes me much more excited. But anyway, did you guys see the leaks? And if you did, what did you think of them? I'm very excited to see the new series and I think the new sonic screwdriver looks really cool! Much better than the sonic sunglasses.**

 **Anyway, I won't keep you for any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **The End of the World part 3**

June wandered around the empty hallways, listening to the faint sound of music coming from the observation gallery and the sound of her steps as she ventured forward. The hallways seemed to just twist around and run into each other. No matter how far she felt that she had walked, there was no sign of the Doctor.

June eventually wandered back into the observation gallery, wondering if the Doctor had ended up there. But she didn't find him. Instead, she saw Cassandra in the middle of the room next to the Jukebox, the whole crowd of aliens surrounding her. June hovered by the door, listening in on her announcements. "The planet's end. Come gather, come gather. Bid farewell to the cradle of civilization. Let us mourn her with a traditional earth ballad." Then, the sudden unmistakable sound of Britney Spear's _Toxic_ began to play from the Jukebox. June snickered and turned on her heels, immediately heading out of the room. If she was going to watch the Earth burn, she wasn't going to do it while listening to _Toxic_. How could she take it seriously then?

June found herself wandering through hallways again, the sound of _Toxic_ following her, until she heard the Doctor's voice. "Hold on. Get back."

June bolted around the corner only to be greeted with a hallway full of smoke, a crowd of panicking space Oompa Loompas, Jabe, and the Doctor scanning a panel with his sonic screwdriver. "What's going on?" June asked to anyone who would answer her.

"Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising," the computer droned.

"I don't know," Jabe said, shaking her head. The whole crowd of space Oompa Loompas surrounded her, burying their faces into her skirt. "Is the Steward in there?"

"You can smell him," the Doctor muttered. "Oh, and hi, June."

"Hi doesn't matter now," June scoffed. She rushed over to see what he was scanning. She couldn't make any sense of the gibberish on the screen. "What do you mean we can smell him?" she asked. "Do you mean the Steward was just burned alive or something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor said, "there's another sun filter programmed to descend." He grabbed June's hand and pulled her along down the hallway.

"Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending." The warning was suddenly much more drastic.

They turned into a hallway which was already slowly filling with smoke. The Doctor bolted to the panel outside the door and began to sonic it. June pressed her hands against the door and recoiled when she felt how unnaturally warm it was. "Hello!?" she called through the door. "Is anyone in there!?"

"Let me out!" Rose shouted. June froze and then winced, letting out a low sigh. Rose had gone off on her own and now she was in danger.

"Oh, well, it would be you," the Doctor scoffed. June shot him a look.

"Open the door!" Rose yelled.

"Hold on! Give me two ticks!" the Doctor called.

"Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending."

"Don't worry, Rose!" June yelled through the door. "You're gonna be alright!" Rose continued to hammer against the door. June turned to the Doctor. "How much longer?" she asked.

"Like I said, two ticks," he grumbled.

"Could you be a little faster?" June asked. She wanted to pry the door open with her hands—or at least attempt to—but the door was hot to the touch and burned her fingers.

"Would you like to try doing this?" the Doctor asked. He raised an eyebrow at her. June glared at him. "No, alright then, stop distracting me." June rolled her eyes.

"Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising."

June let out a sigh of relief, a smile spreading on her face. It was going to be okay.

"I told you it wouldn't take that long," the Doctor said.

June gaped at him for a moment. He had been right. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever," she muttered. She could hear him laugh.

"Sun filter descending."

June's whole body tensed. "What!?" she shouted.

"Just what we need," the Doctor muttered. He went back to sonicing the panel outside the door. "The computer's getting clever."

"Stop mucking about!" Rose shouted.

"I'm not mucking about!" the Doctor argued. "It's fighting back."

"Open the door!" Rose yelled.

"I know!" he yelled back.

"Rose, get as far away from the light as possible!" June shouted. "If you get away from it, it'll bide the Doctor time to fix the computer!"

There was silence. The pounding against the door stopped. June's breath caught in her throat.

"The lock's melted!" Rose shouted. She sounded farther away and still very much alive. June breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending."

June glanced back at the Doctor. He seemed to have opened the wall and was sonicing the mess of wires inside. And then suddenly, "Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising."

June didn't waste a moment before grabbing the red-hot door and attempting to open it. The metal seared her fingers and the door wouldn't budge. "Doctor!"

"Right here." He moved past her and attempted to open the door. "The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the doors. Stay there! Don't move!"

"Where am I going to go, Ipswitch?" Rose scoffed.

"Do you have a plan?" June asked the Doctor.

"Nope."

June nodded. "Alright." They turned and rushed down the hallway.

"Earth Death in five minutes."

 **~*O*~**

The crowd of aliens in the observation gallery were crowded around Jabe, who seemed to be trying her best to explain the situation. "How is that possible?" Cassandra asked. "Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturize me. Moisturize me." She sounded distressed, but the sort of distressed that sounded over dramatic and almost fake.

The Doctor grabbed an odd metal spider out of Jabe's hand. June frowned at it. "What's that?" she asked.

"The device that's taken over Platform One," the Doctor muttered.

"Summon the Steward," the Moxx ordered.

"Who's is it?" June asked.

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead," Jabe said. The room gapsed.

"Don't know," the Doctor answered. "But I think we're going to find out."

"Who killed him?" the Moxx asked.

"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe," Cassandra said. "He invited us." The Face of Boe groaned and shook his head. "Talk to the face," Cassandra insisted. "Talk to the face."

"Easy way of finding out," the Doctor said. "Someone brought their little pet on board. Let's send him back to master." He placed the metal spider down on the floor.

The spider hesitated and scuttled around the room. It didn't go directly to anyone; however, it stood the closest to Cassandra. Cassandra looked shiftily around the room. The spider scuttled away from her, instead turning its attention to the mysterious group of black hoods.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra exclaimed.

"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious," the Doctor said, wandering over to the hooded group, "but if you stop and think about it—" one of the black hooded figures swung at him. The Doctor caught his arm and then completely tore it off its body. The arm had only been attached by a bunch of wires which now sparked and flared. "—a repeated meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He pulled one of the wires and the whole group collapsed. The Doctor dropped the arm onto the ground. "Remote controlled droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo." He nudged the robot spider with his foot. "Go home."

Much to everyone's—everyone's but June and the Doctor's—surprise, the spider crawled over to Cassandra. June crossed her arms and glared at the woman. "J'accuse," she sassed not loud enough for Cassandra to hear her, but loud enough for others to hear and laugh. No one laughed.

"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!" she ordered. Her two assistants held out their spray guns in a threatening manner, although the spray guns weren't very threatening themselves. June quickly pulled out her baseball bat and slowly walked up to join the Doctor.

"What are you going to do, moisturize me?" the Doctor retorted. June laughed. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"With acid," Cassandra said. June and the Doctor stopped smiling. "Oh, you're too late, anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

"You're not even that," June muttered.

"Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it?" the Doctor asked. "How stupid's that?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous," Cassandra explained.

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money," the Doctor grumbled.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a mistake," June said. There was silence. Cassandra glared at her. "Looking like that, it's a mistake." More silence. "It's an insult."

"Button it, skeleton," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey!" June exclaimed.

"Like I was saying," Cassandra continued, shooting June another nasty look, "flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human, Doctor. _Me_. Not those freaky little kids of yours."

"Screw you, too," June muttered.

"Arrest her, the infidel!" the Moxx exclaimed. The room erupted in murmurs of agreement.

"Oh, shut it, pixie," Cassandra snapped. "I've still got my final option."

"Earth Death in three minutes."

"And here it comes," Cassandra said. "You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? Burn, baby, burn."

"Then, you'll burn with us," Jabe said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cassandra frowned with a mock apologetic tone. "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate."

The sound of multiple small explosions bounced around the room. June jumped and raised her baseball bat, ready to hit anything that came to close to her. She jumped again when she felt a hand on her back. When she spun, she just faced the Doctor. She could see the quiet anger in his eyes. "Calm down," he said, his voice tense. June took a deep breath just as the alarms started to go off throughout the whole of Platform One.

"Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode," Cassandra said. June glared at the piece of skin. "At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband." She snickered. "Oh, shame on me."

"Safety systems failing.".

"Bye, bye, darlings," Cassandra taunted. "Bye, bye, my darlings." And then she and her assistance disappeared.

"Heat levels rising."

June turned to the Doctor. He looked up at the ceiling, seemingly searching for something. "We've got to do something," June said as she stuffed her baseball bat away.

"Reset the computer," the Moxx suggested.

"Only the Steward would know how," Jabe said.

"No. We can do it by hand," the Doctor said. "There must be a system restore switch. June, Jabe, come on." He walked backwards out the door, June and Jabe following him. "You lot," he pointed to the crowd, "just chill." June snickered.

"Heat level rising."

The three of them ran out of the room.

 **~*O*~**

"Earth Death in two minutes. Earth Death in two minutes."

June, the Doctor, and Jabe ran through a maintenance duct. Wires lines the walls and the ceiling was so low that the three of them had to crouch to get through. June clung to the Doctor's hand and tried to stay focused on the task at hand instead of letting the warnings from the computer drill a hole in her brain.

They stepped out into a large room that seemed to be made entirely of metal. Large, spinning fans floated in the center of the room over a thin catwalk. The computer droned, "Heat levels critical."

"Let me guess," June said, glancing over at the Doctor. "The switch is on the other side, right?"

"Unfortunately," he sighed.

"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising."

The Doctor ran over to a panel on the wall and began to tear it apart. June pulled on her tee shirt, letting a puff of cool air hit her chin. Just standing in the room made her sweat. "What are you doing?" she asked as she watched him work.

"Just watch," the Doctor said. He pulled down a large lever and suddenly, the fans' whirring became slower and slower. The Doctor grinned and left the lever to pass the fans. But the second the lever popped back into place, the fans started to speed up again.

"External temperature five thousand degrees."

"What do we do now?" June asked.

Suddenly, the fans slowed down again. June and the Doctor turned. Jabe stared back at them fiercely, holding down the lever. "You can't," the Doctor said. "The heat's going to vent through this place."

"I know," Jabe said.

"Jabe, you're made of wood," the Doctor said. A chill ran down June's spine.

"Then stop wasting time, Time Lord," Jabe ordered. June gaped at her, wondering how she had figured out.

"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising." They were already past critical, how much worse could it get?

June shook her head. "Let me," she said. The Doctor and Jabe both stared wide-eyed at her. "I'll do it. He's right, you know," she turned to Jabe, "you're made of wood. You wouldn't be able to survive. I'll just—" she ponded the consequences for a moment, "—have a heat stroke or something."

"Hold on," the Doctor argued. "Don't think I'm going to let you—"

"You don't have a choice," June snapped. She quickly walked over and took the lever from Jabe. She gasped and almost let go the second her flesh made contact with the metal. It was hot to the touch and June could just feel it searing and melting away her skin.

"If I remember correctly, heat stroke can be fatal to humans," Jabe said.

June swallowed thickly. Was she really facing her death? If she was, she couldn't feel it. ' _It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine.'_ "It _can_ be fatal," June said. " _Can_. Not always. Jabe, you wouldn't make it. I might have chance. I'd have a chance if _someone_ ," she shot a look at the Doctor, "would hurry up!"

"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising."

"June—" The Doctor gaped at her.

"Just go!" June shouted. The air around her kept getting thicker and thicker. "Jabe, get out of here, please."

Jabe placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Thank you," she said. She rushed out of the room before the heat got any worse.

The Doctor still hesitated. "If you want to save me, get over to that switch," June said. "Go." He gave her this look like it felt wrong just leaving her there. June sighed. "I'm a big girl. I can handle a little heat." He narrowed his eyes at her. June pondered what she had said for a moment. She shook her head. "Not like that."

"Not like what?"

"Never mind. Just go!"

So, with obvious reluctancy, the Doctor went on and faced the fans.

June couldn't keep looking at him. Just watching and waiting for him to reach the lever on the other side would drive her absolutely crazy. She looked down at the lever she held in place despite how her hands screamed for her to let go. The room kept growing hotter and hotter, the air clogged around her and the heat seeped into her skin. Time slowed as June just stared at her burning skin, seconds turning into minutes and minutes turning into hours.

Her brain began to throb and pound against her skill as she tried to focus on her breathing. Her body sagged and sweat pooled under her arms and against her back. Her clothes stuck to her skin like tape and her stomach twisted in violent nausea. Things around her began to fade. She stared at the dizzy image of her bright red hands gripping the lever, desperately trying to remember what she was exactly doing. She could just picture the image of her skin melting and becoming one with the lever. She struggled to keep herself together, tears filling her eyes and mind getting fuzzy.

June's legs gave out on her. She slumped and not even a moment later, everything went black. Everything just stopped. Her clothes were simmering and smoking as she lay on the hot metal floor, completely unconscious. And the Doctor still stood in front of the last fan.

 **~*O*~**

June wasn't sure how long had passed when she woke up. All she knew was that she felt cold. Spectacularly cold. She could feel something cold being pressed against her forehead and when she moved her thumbs she rubbed against some cloth wrapped around her hands. Her vision was fuzzy at first but when it did focus, she saw Rose Tyler looking down at her. Rose's face went from worried to relieved and she grinned down at the brunette. She looked over her shoulder and shouted, "Doctor, she's awake!"

June couldn't see the Doctor but was relieved to hear his voice. "Good. Keep her cool."

"What happened?" June asked.

"Oh, you should have seen their little alien faces," the familiarly annoying voice of Cassandra said.

"You had a heat stroke," Rose explained. "And your hands are completely burned. You need to drink water." Rose helped the brunette sit up and handed her a bottle of water.

June happily drank down the water as she watched the Doctor face down Cassandra. "The last human," he grumbled.

"So, you passed my little test," Cassandra quickly and obviously improvised. "Bravo. This makes you eligible to join, er, the Human Club."

"People are hurt," the Doctor snapped, gesturing back at June who glared at Cassandra and took another drink of water. "People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them."

"It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries," Cassandra argued. "Take me to court, then, Doctor—" June frowned at the sound of loud strange groaning coming from somewhere in the room. "—and watch me smile and cry and flutter—"

"And creak?" the Doctor asked. Cassandra's face kept growing redder as the flap of her skin seemed to tense and squeeze. It was absolutely horrible to watch. June gaped at the back of the Doctor's head because he knew that this would happen to her. It was so utterly cruel to watch.

"And what?" Cassandra asked, stunned and staring wide-eyed.

"Creak," the Doctor repeated. "You're creaking." Cassandra's eyes grew very bloodshot, bright red and tense.

"What?" she asked again. The skin around her face tightened and pulled. June scratched her arm subconsciously, as if whatever was happening to Cassandra would spread to her. "Ah! I'm drying out!" she exclaimed. "Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturize me, moisturize me!" She quickly became more desperate. "Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys!" Her voice tensed. "It's too hot!"

"You raised the temperature," the Doctor said blankly. He didn't sound like himself. He sounded cold and isolated, unforgiving. It sent a nasty chill up June's spine.

"Have pity!" Cassandra cried desperately, her voice strained and begging. "Moisturize me!" she yelled. "Oh, oh, Doctor. I'm sorry. I'll do anything."

Guilt hit June's stomach, mixing with the nausea. "Help me up," she whispered to Rose. Rose gave her a concerned look, but June shot her an insistent one. So, she helped the woman off of the floor. June stumbled, her vision dizzy, but she pushed on right towards the Doctor, ignoring how awful she felt. She didn't like Cassandra and what she did make her like her less. But she was begging. Pleading. No one else deserved to die. June grabbed the Doctor's hand and squeezed it to get his attention.

He glanced at her. "You shouldn't be walking," he grumbled and immediately looked away.

"I don't care. You have to stop it. Please, stop it," June begged softly, tugging on his arm. "She's begging and I know what she did was terrible but you can't just let her die."

"You have to help her," Rose added, her voice shaking.

"Everything has its time and everything dies," he replied bluntly. He didn't have a single emotion. It made June uneasy.

Cassandra's skin started to shrink in, her eyes bulged, bloodshot, from their sockets. "I'm too young!" she yelled. And then a hole ripped its way through the middle of her body. Flesh splattered across the observation gallery in a bloody mess. June shrieked at the noise and hid her face in her hands.

The Doctor looked down at her upon hearing her small scream, his eyebrows furrowing in slight concern. June drew her hands away from her face and glanced up at him. She didn't look angry, but she wasn't okay, and she want pleased with him. Her forest-green eyes showed something more like exhaustion and frustration. She stumbled away, looking wearily down at the ground so she wouldn't step on any of Cassandra's flesh.

June slumped in a corner, her stomach twisting violently at the memory of splattering flesh. She closed her eyes and rested her head back against a wall. She hummed _Hey Jude_ to herself. She could feel the weighty presence of someone walking up to her. She wanted to be alone especially after everything, but she opened her eyes anyway. The Doctor stood there with his hand held out to her. "Come on," he said. "Let me get you back to the TARDIS. You have third degree burns on your hands. I need to help you. Come on."

"I'm upset with you," June muttered.

"I know," he said.

"Okay." She let him take her wrists and help her off of the floor. They left the room, leaving a crowd of distressed aliens and with Rose following quickly behind.

 **~*O*~**

June was lucky. She had no internal injuries from her heat stroke. She just had third degree burns across her palms, just like the Doctor had said. It didn't even hurt considering how her nerve endings were completely destroyed. She'd heal after a while.

The Doctor wrapped her hands in bandages. She hadn't had the chance to look at her palms. He said that she wouldn't want to. "Am I gonna be scarred for life?" June asked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean physically, not emotionally."

The Doctor chuckled a bit, but quickly grew quiet. "Maybe," he said. "I don't have anything in the TARDIS that can fully cure the scarring, but I know there's something somewhere out there that can."

June nodded. The reality hadn't exactly hit her yet. It felt like it was some alternate June's hands that got scarred, not hers. Some alternate June had a heat stroke, not her.

After the bandages were in place, the Doctor stood up. "You can join Rose and I in the console room whenever you're ready." June nodded.

He headed towards the door, but just before he could leave, June stopped him by saying, "I don't like it when you're like that."

He closed the door and frowned at her. "Like what?"

June didn't know exactly how to explain it. "You didn't have to let her die."

The Doctor just glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, preferring to stare at the door. "People died. You were hurt."

"And she was begging," June said. She leaned against the wall. "I know where you're coming from, but she didn't have to die."

The Doctor left the room.

 **~*O*~**

After the TARDIS landed, June joined the Doctor and Rose in the console room. The Doctor was silent, but Rose walked right up to her with a soft smile and concerned look in her eyes. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," June said. It felt easier to talk to the blonde. "Just a bit of scarring." She held up one of her hands and wiggled her fingers.

"Come on you two," the Doctor said, gesturing towards the TARDIS doors.

Rose wrapped a careful hand around June's wrist and pulled her along after her, heading towards the door. June usually didn't like it when people held her hand or put their arm around her. She let her friends do it because they were her friends, but never anyone she barely knew. But she felt herself not minding Rose's hand around her wrist. Rose was human. Rose was someone that she could relate to in the whole wide universe of alien beings. She felt almost a little relieved to have the blonde around.

They stepped out of the TARDIS and found themselves in the middle of a busy street in London. People were just passing them like they weren't there. Everyone was busy and going along with their lives. June felt herself smile faintly at the familiar rush around them.

The Doctor eventually joined the two girls, standing with them in the middle of the crowd. "You think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete," he said, "but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky." They all looked up at the sky. There was a long moment. The only noise was the rush of people. And then the Doctor said, "My planet's gone." And June suddenly tensed. "It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before its time."

 **~*O*~**

 _The console room was quiet. Both occupants of the time machine were in the room, but neither of them said anything. She had been traveling with him for slightly over a month. They had been through a lot, but nothing quite like their last trip. Things had gotten very bad. He had been so cold. Neither of them wanted to talk about it._

 _But the question was tugging at June's head._ 'Ask him. Ask him. Ask him.' _And her stomach lurched because she knew she said that she wasn't going to pry anymore, but what the man had said to the Doctor, it raised so many questions._

 _"What did he mean when he said you're the last?" she asked._

 _The Doctor looked up at her from the other side of the console. "It's not—"_

 _"It is important." Her voice came out stern, but calmly so. She met his eyes. "You can't keep everything a secret. It'll hurt too much. You don't deserve to hurt. And you don't seem like you have anyone else to talk to."_

 _And in that moment of the strange relief from intensity and June's attempt to comfort him, the Doctor just seemed to crack. He told her everything. He told her about the Time War. He told her about the Daleks. He told her about how Gallifrey had burned and all the Time Lords had been destroyed long with the Daleks. He told her how he—he never finished saying that. But he looked up and he could see it in her eyes, she had filled in the blanks._

 _June didn't reply for a long time. She had to mentally process all the information. And the longer she stayed quiet, the more the Doctor began to worry. He couldn't blame her for hating him for what he had done. He didn't want her to because he had actually found someone he trusted and liked and didn't want her to leave._

 _But then June slid off of the seat and settled on the grated console room floor. She stood in front of him for a moment and then wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into the crook of his neck. She wasn't sure how else to be comforting. And as he hugged her back, he could feel her unease._

 _"I'm sure I can't be much help," she whispered in his ear. "Because no, I'll never feel the pain you feel. But I don't like seeing the people I care about so upset. So, I'll help in any way I can."_

 _He only hugged her tighter._

 **~*O*~**

June was still upset. But that didn't matter. She held his hand again, squeezing it softly. It was met with a small, appreciative smile from him.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"There was a war and we lost," the Doctor said.

"A war with who?" she asked. He didn't answer. "What about your people?"

"I'm a Time Lord," he said. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I was traveling on my own 'cos there was no one else. But now June's here." And he smiled softly at her. "And I have her." She felt herself blush ever so slightly.

"And there's me," Rose said. They all gave small smiles.

"You've seen how dangerous it is," the Doctor said. "Do you want to go home?"

"I don't know," Rose said after a moment. "I want—" and then she stopped and turned her head, "can you smell chips?"

And the Doctor smiled and laughed slightly. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah."

June laughed to herself. "I can't," she said, forcing down a smile. "I can smell French fries though." She couldn't exactly smell anything, but she had to take the opportunity.

Rose laughed. "No, they're chips," she insisted through a smile. "And I want some."

"Me too," the Doctor said, grinning.

"I could go for some fries," June decided, nodding.

"Right then, before you get us back in that box, chips—" Rose cut off when she made eye contact with June, "—or fries, it is, and you can pay."

The Doctor shook his head. "No money," he said.

Rose looked at June. "American money," she said with a smile. "If we stop off in the U.S of A, I'll do the paying then."

"What sort of friends are you two?" Rose asked, shaking her head with a smile. "Come on then," she looked at the Doctor, "tightwad," she looked at June, "American, chips are on me. We've only got five billion years till the shops close."

They laughed went down the street to find some chips.

* * *

 **Okay, that was it for The End of the World!**

 **Do tell me what you think of the flashbacks I've put in this chapter and the last one. I like the both of them, but I want to know what you think.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	12. The Unquiet Dead (Part 1)

**Guys!**

 **There's going to be a trailer for series 11 tomorrow! I'm so excited!**

 **And did you see the pictures of David Tennant as the Doctor at the Muppets take over the o2? Because wow. 1) he looks really good, but of course he does, he's David Tennant. And 2) I didn't realize how much I missed seeing him as the Doctor. It made me kinda emotional.**

 **Anyway, exciting weekend for us Whovians. I'm super excited for the trailer. I have a good feeling about this season.**

 **So, here's the next chapter of The Forest-Eyed Girl. Today we start The Unquiet Dead. I hope you guys enjoy it and I won't keep you any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

 **The Unquiet Dead part 1**

"One of you, hold that one down!" the Doctor shouted, pointing to a large button on the console.

The girls both gave him incredulous looks. They were both already holding other buttons down and the new one he pointed to was out of reach. "I'm holding this one down!" Rose argued.

"And I'm holding this one down!" June yelled over the noise of the TARDIS's wheezing.

"Well, hold them all down!" the Doctor ordered. "June you're closer!"

June shot him a glare from across the console. She reached for the button, but it fell too far away. "I can't reach it!" she yelled.

"It's not going to work!" Rose shouted.

"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting! Now hold down the button!"

The button was too far away for June to reach with her arm, so she went for the next best thing. She swung her leg over the console and slammed the heel of her sneaker onto the button. The TARDIS lurched, but June managed to keep her position stable.

"Get your leg off of the console!" the Doctor yelled at her.

"I'm holding the button down, damn it!" she snapped. "Now, hurry up! I can't stay like this forever! Where are we going anyway?"

"Well, we went to the future, so now let's have a look at the past," the Doctor said. "1860! How does 1860 sound?"

"Victorian era?" June asked.

"Yep!" he confirmed.

"What happened in 1860?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!" The Doctor pulled a lever on the console and they were sent hurtling through the time vortex.

 **~*O*~**

They had all ended up sprawled out on the floor after the rough landing. The Doctor and Rose were laughing. June spared the two a glance and smiled before shakily standing up. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing the stray strands out of her face.

"Blimey!" Rose exclaimed. June held a hand and helped her off of the floor.

"You're telling me," the Doctor said, grinning. "Are you two alright?"

June gave him a thumbs up. "I'm good." She turned to look at the scanner with the Doctor. She didn't know why she bothered. She couldn't understand the gibberish on the screen.

"Yeah, I think so," Rose answered. "Nothing broken." She tried to glance at the scanner as well. "Did we make it?" she asked. "Where are we?"

"I did it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860." He crossed his arms and beamed proudly down at the two girls.

"That's so weird," Rose laughed. "It's Christmas."

The Doctor gestured to the TARDIS doors. "All yours."

"But, it's like, think about it, though," Rose said, her voice growing serious. "Christmas. 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone, it's finished it'll never happen again." The Doctor shrugged. "Except for you," Rose continued. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."

"Not a bad life," the Doctor said.

"Better with three," Rose smiled.

June laughed and smiled along with her two friends. Yeah, it was truly something spectacular.

"Come on, then," Rose said. She grabbed June's arm and pulled her along as she rushed to the TARDIS doors.

"Hey, where do you two think you're going?" the Doctor shouted after them.

Rose stopped, June stuttering to a halt beside her. "1860," Rose said to the Doctor.

"Go out there dressed like that, you two'll start a riot, Barbarellas," the Doctor said. June sighed. She was destined for another trip to the mess of the TARDIS wardrobe. "There's a wardrobe through there." He pointed across at the hallway. "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. June knows the way. Hurry up!"

 **~*O*~**

The TARDIS wardrobe was completely cluttered. The room was large and multiple floors tall. Nothing was organized and things were shoved into corners and against the walls. There were large denim jackets next to togas and tight suits next to American frontier style dresses. Rose's jaw had dropped and she stared around, wide eyed.

June immediately headed into the room, braving the racks of clothing. The sooner they went in the sooner they would find their outfits and get out. June didn't know how long she would be in the mess. She had been lost for almost an hour the first time she had stepped into the room. "Hurry up," June called to Rose. "Everything's just thrown around. The only way to find anything is to just search for it."

"You're joking, right?" Rose called back, eyeing the brunette across the room as she examined a long dress.

"Nope," June said. She smiled at Rose. "Good luck. Don't get lost."  
June had soon enough lost Rose in the wardrobe. However, she did manage to put together an outfit she thought would be time period appropriate. She struggled to hold the mountain of clothing in her arms as she went to stand in the middle of the wardrobe. She called out a general message to Rose, telling her that she would be changing in her room, but she got no reply and wasn't sure if she had even heard her. But June quickly scrambled off to her bedroom to change anyway.

The dress was a dark blue. It had a tall turtle neck, a tight bodice, and a brooch where the neck turned into the bodice. The sleeves ruffled around her wrists and fitted tightly around her arms. The skirt jutted out in every direction and June felt like it was so poufy it could just swallow her whole. She stood on a pair of black Victorian style boots with a small heel to them. She had taken a pair of black gloves to cover the bandages from her burns. She buttoned up a black Victorian jacket with bronze facets over her dress so she wouldn't be cold. She tied her bushy hair into a low ponytail, letting a few strands fall out and frame her face. A black ribbon was tied around the rubber band so no one would see it. She almost felt like she was playing dress up.

June checked her appearance one more time in the mirror inside her closet door. She nodded to herself. She didn't look like a stunning Victorian woman, but it would do. She stiffly walked out of the room, already missing her tee-shirts and jeans.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor had opened up a hole in the floor while waiting for the girls. And that's where June found him when she walked into the console room. He was tinkering with the TARDIS, standing in a hole in the floor. Rose hadn't made it back to the console room and June wondered if the girl was lost in the wardrobe and if she should go back and help her.

"Blimey!" June was snapped out of her thoughts. The Doctor had left his tinkering alone and was now gaping at her. Maybe not at her… something behind her?

June looked over her shoulder, but there was nothing. She looked back at him, frowning. He still stared at her. "What?" she asked.

"You look beautiful," he said. June furrowed her eyebrows at him as he just smiled at her.

June knew to just accept the compliment. Instead, she smiled, let out a breathy laugh, and looked away. She stared down at the console, biting her lip and laughing through her nose.

"Considering," the Doctor added after a moment.

June looked back at him and frowned. "Considering?" she asked. "Considering what?"

"That you're human," he said.

"You know," June said, "I was going to accept your compliment, but now I don't feel inclined to."

"If you were going to accept my compliment, then why didn't you?" he asked.

"I—" she faltered, "—because I just didn't in that short amount of time between you saying it and then adding 'considering'."

"Hm," he hummed and nodded, unconvinced. "Alright." He went and buzzed a wire under the console with his sonic screwdriver.

June rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome."

"Alright I'm here!" Rose called, running into the console room. "What do you think?" She spun around, showing off the black and red dress she had found. Her hair was pinned up with some flowers and she wore a black cape over her shoulders.

June nodded. "Pretty good." She gave the girl a thumbs up.

"You look fantastic," the Doctor told her, smiling.

"Thank you," Rose shrugged, a confident smile on her face. She took a moment to look down at the Doctor and furrow her eyebrows. "Aren't you going to change?"

"I've changed my jumper," he said. "Come on."

Rose stopped him from hopping out of the hole in the floor. "You stay there," she ordered. "You've done this before. And so have you." She pointed at June. "This is mine." She rushed to the TARDIS doors.

 **~*O*~**

Rose hesitated in the doorway for a moment and then stepped out of the TARDIS, the doors closing behind her. June smiled after her and turned to pick up the backpack she had left on the console room's seat. She held the two straps like they were purse straps and let the bag hang by her leg.

"Are you coming?" the Doctor asked, looking back at her as he stood by the door.

"Yup." June ran across the console room. She pulled the door open and exchanged smiles with the Doctor before she stepped out.

She grinned wildly and stepped out of the TARDIS. The ground crunched underneath her feet. They were parked at the end of a side street—a side street which was covered in snow. June's breath caught in her throat and she marveled at the snowflakes falling from the cloudy night sky. It was only her second time seeing snow.

June's nose and cheeks were already red and numb from the biting wind. Her body shivered violently in the cold, her teeth chattering loud enough to grab attention. She didn't mind. She looked back at the Doctor. "It's snow," she laughed, her grin growing wider.

"Yeah," he said with an amused smile, nodding his head. "That's what you get when go someplace cold on Christmas." The Doctor looked over at Rose, who hadn't pulled her eyes off of their surroundings. "Ready for this?" he asked.

Rose turned away from the sights for the first time since leaving the TARDIS. She nodded silently. It was as if the shock had taken her words away. She smiled and nodded.

The Doctor grinned at the two girls. "Here we go," he said. "History."

Rose walked quickly ahead of the Doctor and June. Watching her reminded June of a kid at a theme park. A kid who ran ahead, trying to see everything possible, while still trying to keep their family in sight.

The Doctor held his arm out for June. She linked her arm through his and they happily followed after Rose through the streets of Victorian Naples. The old buildings decorated with subtle Christmas decorations and the people in fancy dress casually walking down the street reminded June of a Christmas card.

The Doctor glanced down at June. He couldn't help but feel slightly worried at how much June was shivering and at the loud chattering of her teeth. They hadn't gone to many cold places during their travels—June didn't like the cold as much as she liked the snow—so her body hadn't gotten used to freezing weather. She was constantly shaking and chattering. He didn't exactly want her getting injured from any more extreme temperatures.

They walked until they stumbled upon a street that was full of activity. Horse drawn carriages were rolling down the street. People were running around and walking with their families. A choir was singing Christmas songs. And everyone was fighting the biting cold winds around them.

Rose looked over at June to see if she was just as stunned as she was. The woman had a black glove adorned hand covering her nose and mouth. But June grinned at her, the delight shining in her forest-green eyes.

The Doctor moved away for a moment to buy a newspaper from a man standing on a street corner. He had trouble reading it in the wind. "I got the flight a bit wrong," he said after a moment. June laughed through her shivering. The Doctor sent her a small glare.

"I don't care," Rose said, grinning.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869," he said.

"I don't care," Rose said again.

"Oh no," June said through chattering, her voice dull with sarcasm, "you've screwed up the whole trip." He glared at her again, though he was just a _bit_ amused by her sarcasm. June shrugged and gave him a lopsided smile.

"And it's not Naples," the Doctor said.

"I don't care." Rose was still grinning.

"Where are we then?" June asked.

"Cardiff," the Doctor told her. June nodded. She had never heard of Cardiff.

Rose stopped in her tracks. June looked over her shoulder at the girl, confused. She wondered if there was anything wrong with Cardiff. Rose muttered something to herself and then ran to catch up with them again.

They walked down another street, a perfectly peaceful Christmas street. Well, peaceful until the screaming started. The shouts came from the other end of the street. The Doctor grinned. "That's more like it!" he exclaimed. He grabbed June's hand and ran towards the trouble, throwing the newspaper over his shoulder.

People poured out of a large building, rushing down the steps and out into the street. June was shoved and hit several times while running against the crowd with the Doctor and Rose. They pushed past frantic people and shoved their way into a theatre. There was a small wooden stage and several rows of red seats. An older man stood on the stage, completely shocked, but not running. The only remaining audience member was an old woman with glassy eyes and blue wisps soaring from her wide-open mouth.

June trained her eyes on the wisps, following the swirling shapes. They formed into a bigger figure and whipped around the theatre, scaring people and making them run, causing chaos. June gasped and her grin grew much wider than it had been before. It was a ghost.

"Fantastic," the Doctor gasped from next to her. June tugged on his arm and they smiled at each other. He ran towards the stage and June followed closely behind.

People were still fleeing around them. The Doctor and June stopped by the stage. The Doctor looked up at the older man and asked, "Did you see where it came from?"

"Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he?" the man grumbled, clearly not pleased at his performance being interrupted by ghosts. "I trust you're satisfied, sir!" he yelled. The Doctor looked offended and June laughed. She couldn't be sure how the man could think it was a prank or a joke. They didn't have the technology or the tricks to make an effect similar to the very real ghost flying around the room back in the Victorian era.

"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose shouted, her voice one of the loudest things in the room. Two people had grabbed the old, now unconscious, woman and were dragging her away. "Doctor, I'll get them!" she shouted. She started towards the strangers.

"Be careful!" the Doctor yelled back. He hopped up onto the stage and then turned and helped pull June onto the stage. June silently cursed how restrictive her skirt was.

The Doctor went over to the man. "Did it say anything?" he asked. "Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way. And she's June." June looked at the man and smiled slightly upon hearing her name. But she quickly looked back at the ghost. She didn't want to take her eyes off of it.

"Doctor?" the man asked. "You look more like a navvie."

"What's wrong with this jumper?" the Doctor asked.

June grinned and ran over to him. "Doctor," she beamed, tugging on his jacket sleeve. He looked down at her. "Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize." She laughed and beamed excitedly.

"Oh, I knew it was only a matter of time before you said that," the Doctor grumbled. He watched her pure enthusiasm at the sight of what she assumed was a ghost and couldn't help but wonder why she was so excited about it.

Ghosts—one of the greatest mysteries on Earth. So many people, including herself, believed that they were real and yet, there was never enough proof. She knew it wasn't very logical to believe in them, but ghosts were cool. They helped explain unexplainable events and were the basis of stories that sent shivers down her back. As June stood in that theatre, it seemed that ghosts were pretty real, and it excited her extremely.

The blue ghost scared more people and soared through the theatre. And then it disappeared into a lamp. The only evidence of ghosts June had ever seen was gone. She frowned.

"Gas!" the Doctor exclaimed. "It's made of gas."

 **~*O*~**

June and the Doctor left the theatre. The man from the stage followed them out, intent on speaking with them. They stepped out into the cold air just in time to see the blonde of Rose's hair as she was shoved into the back of a hearse. A black-haired woman shut the door of the hearse and took a seat next to an old man.

The Doctor yelled after them. "Rose!" They ran after the hearse as it trotted down the street, but they weren't fast enough to catch it.

"You're not escaping me, sir," the man from the theater called, racing after them. The Doctor and June gaped in the hearse's direction as it got further and further away. Neither of them paid attention to the man. "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"

June turned to the Doctor. "We're not going to just stand here, right?" June asked. "We have to go after her!"

The Doctor grinned at her. "Of course we are," he said.

"Well?" the man asked, demanding answers.

"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks," the Doctor said, brushing him aside. "Oi, you!" he pointed at a driver of a carriage and began to run towards him. June wasn't far behind him. "Follow that hearse!"

The Doctor pulled the carriage door open and hopped inside, pulling June along after him. June had a sort of messy grin on her face. "We're hijacking a carriage," she whispered to him.

"I can't do that, sir!" the driver called down to them.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked. Then he looked at June. "Yeah, we are."

"I'll tell you why not," the man snapped, appearing at the carriage door. "I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach!"

"Well, get in, then!" the Doctor said. He reached over June, grabbed the man, and forcibly pulled him into the carriage. June sat, squished between the two men, feeling very awkward as the stranger sat way too close to her. The carriage was obviously only met for one or two passengers. "Move!" the Doctor yelled.

There was a loud crack and then the carriage lurched forward, jumping and hobbling down the street. "Come on, you're losing them!" the Doctor yelled to the driver.

"Everything in order, Mister Dickens?" the driver asked.

"No!" Dickens shouted. "It is not!"

"What did he say?" the Doctor asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Let me say this first," Dickens started.

"Dickens," June told the Doctor. "He called him Dickens." And the Doctor gaped at her. She frowned at his shock.

Dickens continued, "I'm not without a sense of humor."

"Dickens?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," Dickens said.

"Charles Dickens?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes," Charles Dickens said. June gaped at the man, suddenly aware that the strange arm that was squished against hers belonged to one of the most famous authors of all time.

"The Charles Dickens?" the Doctor asked. June laughed excitedly.

"Should I remove the gentleman and the lady, sir?" the driver asked.

"Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are!" the Doctor exclaimed. He grinned wildly and began to ramble on in excitement. "Completely one hundred percent brilliant. I've read them all. _Great Expectations, Oliver Twist,_ and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"

"A Christmas Carol?" Dickens asked.

"No, no, no, the one with the trains," the Doctor said. He glanced at June. June shook her head and shrugged. She might've known who Charles Dickens was, but she had only ever seen various adaptations of _A Christmas Carol_. It made her feel slightly embarrassed. She was sitting next to the man, she should probably know more than just _A Christmas Carol_. " _The Signal Man_ , that's it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You're a genius."

"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" the driver asked.

Charles Dickens looked quite pleased with the Doctor's praises. "Er, no, I think they can stay."

"Honestly, Charles," the Doctor said as he repositioned himself in his seat so he could look at the author better. "Can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan."

"A what?" Dickens asked. "A big what?"

"Fan," the Doctor repeated. "Number one fan, that's me." He beamed at the man. "She's a fan too, just not as much as me."

It took June a moment to remember that he was talking about her. Charles Dickens glanced down at her with confusion, though she wasn't sure over what. June smiled at him and nervously gave a thumbs up. "Yup," she said.

"How exactly are you a fan?" Dickens asked. "In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?"

June began to crack up. She clapped a hand over her mouth and leaned over, closing herself up more so that Charles Dickens wouldn't think she was just some weird randomly laughing girl. She couldn't help herself. He had been so sincere and genuinely confused.

"No, it means fanatic, devoted to," the Doctor corrected. "Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in _Martin Chuzzlewit_ , what's that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit."

"I thought you said you were my fan," Dickens said.

"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism," the Doctor said. June's giggling had stopped as she swallowed a smile. "Done laughing?" he asked, a small amused smile on his face.

"For now," June said. "Just imagine yourself as a ceiling fan." She laughed again. "You could be more useful that way."

"Oi! Watch it," he lightly scolded. He couldn't hide the small smile he wore, though. June snickered. "Go on, Charles," the Doctor said, redirecting his attention again, "do the death of Little Neil, it cracks me up. No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!" the Doctor shouted at the driver. And the carriage only seemed to rattle more, which June assumed meant that they were going faster.

"Who exactly is in that hearse?" Dickens asked.

"Our friend," the Doctor told him.

"Rose," June interjected.

"She's only nineteen," the Doctor continued. "It's my fault." June frowned. "She's in my care, and now she's in danger."

June hit his arm lightly and caught his attention. "It's not your fault," she told him. "Honestly, I wish you'd stop saying things like that. It clearly wasn't your fault. You didn't send her out to get kidnapped or anything. Stop taking the blame."

"June…" he started softly, but he was interrupted.

"Kidnapped?" Dickens asked.

June turned and nodded. "Yeah. The people driving that hearse just kidnapped her. I dunno what they did to her." Because she knew that Rose wouldn't have gone down easily.

"What are we wasting my time talking about dry old books?" Dickens asked. "This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!"

"Yes, sir!" the driver said.

June laughed. "Hell, yeah."

"Attaboy, Charlie," the Doctor beamed.

"Nobody calls me Carlie," Dickens said.

"The ladies do," the Doctor said. June snickered a bit.

"How do you know that?" Dickens asked.

"I told you, I'm your number one—"

"Number one fan," Dickens droned, looking out of the window.

June and the Doctor grinned at each other, both of them in small fits of laughter. " _Charles Dickens_ ," June mouthed to him through a large grin.

" _I know_ ," he mouthed back silently. " _Fantastic!_ "

 **~*O*~**

Charles Dickens knocked on the undertaker's door. June stood back with the Doctor. She was shivering in the cold. She noticed the Doctor's concerned look so she smiled at him through chattering teeth. He seemed unconvinced.

The front door swung open and the same black-haired girl who shoved Rose into the hearse stood in the doorway. June immediately tensed up. "I'm sorry, sir. We're closed," the girl said. She sounded soft, nervous even. It made June stop and frown. She didn't seem like the type to be shoving people into hearses.

"Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule," Dickens snapped at her. "I demand to see your master."

"He's not in, sir." The girl tried closing the door.

June audibly coughed. And mixed in with her cough was, " _Bullshit_."

Dickens slammed his hand against the door and forced it open again. "Don't lie to me, child!" Dickens yelled, effectively stunning the girl. "Summon him at once."

June felt something prod into her arm. She glanced to the side. The Doctor had elbowed her. She expected something important, but he simply said, "Language." June gaped at him.

"I'm awfully sorry, Mister Dickens, but the master's indisposed," the girl insisted.

"Having trouble with your gas?" the Doctor asked. A large, madly flickering flame sat in a gas lamp on the wall inside. June assumed that something about the flame wasn't normal.

"What the Shakespeare is going on?" Dickens wondered.

"Don't we still have to find Rose?" June asked.

The Doctor ran inside the house, right past the girl in the doorway. June followed, giving the girl a cold glare as she passed. The girl seemed to visibly shrink. June felt a pang of guilt in her stomach.

The Doctor had his ear pressed against the wall, listening for something.

"You're not allowed inside, sir, ma'am," the girl said.

"There's something inside the walls," the Doctor said. "The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas."

"Ghosts," June said with a smile. "Some grim grinning ghosts are living inside the gas."

"Stop," the Doctor said, frowning at her. June just smiled happily at him.

"Let me out! Open the door!" the faint voice of Rose Tyler screamed.

"Rose!" June exclaimed, she already started down the nearest hallway.

"That's her," the Doctor said.

The Doctor caught up to her and the two of them ran towards Rose's shouts. They passed an old man along the way—June assumed the master of the house. He yelled something at them, but neither of them cared. They further they went, the louder Rose's cries were and the closer she was.

They stopped at the end of a hallway where Rose's voice was the clearest. The Doctor stopped in front of a door and glanced at June out of the corner of his eye. He said, "Watch this." The Doctor kicked the door in. June nodded in approval.

Inside the room, Rose struggled against two corpses which tightly held her. June felt slightly sick at the sight of the dead bodies. The Doctor walked into the room and yanked one of the corpses' hands away from Rose and pulled her away. "I think this is my dance," he said.

Rose rushed to the doorway and stood with June. "You okay?" June asked.

Rose nodded. "Better now." They smiled at each other.

"It's a prank," Dickens said from behind them. "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not," the Doctor insisted. "The dead are walking."

June looked over the two corpses and frowned. "They're not exactly happy haunts, are they?"

"Stop with the Haunted Mansion jokes," the Doctor said, frowning at her.

June frowned right back. "Make me," she spat.

The Doctor decidedly ignored the comment. He looked down at Rose and smiled at her. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Rose smiled back. "Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens," June and the Doctor chorused. Then they both exchanged annoyed looks.

"Okay." Rose nodded faintly.

"My name's the Doctor," the Doctor said. "Who are you, then?" What do you want?"

The young man's corpse opened his mouth and replied in a chorus of different voices. "Failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us." A strangled cry followed and the two corpses opened their mouths. The blue gas—ghosts—left their bodies and flew into a gas lamp. The corpses collapsed onto the floor and the room went silent.

* * *

 **Tell me what you guys thought of the chapter!**

 **I have no clue when I'm updating next, but I'm aiming for next week.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	13. The Unquiet Dead (part 2)

**Hey guys!**

 **Did you see the trailer for season 11 from Comic Con? I loved it! I'm super excited for series 11!**

 **Anyway, this chapter is super long because I felt that it wasn't long enough to cut into two chapters. It also ends the Unquiet Dead, so next chapter will start Aliens of London. Which... should be interesting to say the least.**

 **I'm not going to keep you any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

 **The Unquiet Dead part 2**

June stood at the back of the living room with the Doctor, who leaned against the fireplace mantel. Rose paced around the room, ranting and scolding the master of the house, Mr. Sneed. Charles Dickens sat at a table where the black-haired girl, Gwyneth, poured tea for everyone.

"First of all, you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man," Rose yelled at Mr. Sneed. The Doctor grinned and laughed silently at Rose's rage.

"Look at her go," June whispered to him with a small smile.

"I won't be spoken to like this!" Mr. Sneed yelled.

June wasn't exactly fond of Mr. Sneed. She wondered how he could possible expect not to be yelled at by the girl he drugged and kidnapped. June rolled her eyes and said, "Tough shit," not particularly loud enough for anyone to hear.

Rose did manage to hear her. "Thank you!" she yelled, gesturing to the girl across the room.

"Language," the Doctor whispered in June's ear. June groaned.

"Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies!" Rose yelled at Mr. Sneed.

June glared at the Doctor. She did adore the man, she wouldn't admit it, but she did. But even so, he didn't get to tell her not to swear. "Bite me," she spat.

"And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave me to die!" Rose shouted at Mr. Sneed.

The Doctor snickered at June's comment. She looked over her shoulder and frowned at him. He wore a small smirk and raised his eyebrows at her, as if asking, ' _what are you going to do, huh?'_ because she both knew that the worse she would do was snap little sarcastic comments at him.

"So, come on, talk!" Rose yelled.

"It's not my fault, it's this house!" Mr. Sneed yelled. Everyone was silent. Mr. Sneed looked nervously around the room. "It's this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs—" he stopped, Dickens looked very uncomfortable sitting at the table across the room with his tea. Mr. Sneed's nickname for the corpses didn't help make June like him. At least 'corpse' was an actual name for the bodies, but 'stiffs'— "The, er, dear departed—" the Doctor silently laughed at his attempt to fix things, "—started getting restless."

"Tommyrot," Dickens grumbled into his tea.

"You witnessed it!" Mr. Sneed exclaimed. Dickens was silent. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hand onto scraps."

Gwyneth walked over to the Doctor and June, two cups of tea in her hands. "Two sugars, sir, just how you like it," she said, placing one of the cups on the mantle. "And honey for you, ma'am. Odd preference if you don't mind me saying." She laughed nervously and placed the second cup next to the first.

"Thanks," June murmured as Gwyneth walked away.

"One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service," Mr. Sneed told Dickens, attempting to prove to him that everything was real.

June glanced up at the Doctor. "You never said anything about what we like in our tea to her, did you?" she asked in a low whisper.

"Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned," Mr. Sneed said, pointing at Dickens.

"Nope," the Doctor whispered back.

"Then how did she know?" June asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing."

"Morbid fancy," Dickens said, getting up from his seat and walking out into the room.

"Oh, Charles, you were there," the Doctor said, frowning at the man.

"I saw nothing but an illusion," Dickens insisted.

Apparently, the Doctor didn't like that. "If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up," he snapped. June gaped at him, incredulous to how he turned to fast. Dickens looked shocked but stayed silent.

She could see the frustration in the Doctor's eyes, but it didn't mean he got to snap at people. "Don't be rude," she scolded.

The Doctor ignored her. "What about the gas?" he asked Mr. Sneed.

"That's new, sir," Mr. Sneed said. "Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger," the Doctor explained, "the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose asked.

"A weak point through time and pace. A connection between this place and another," the Doctor said. "That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time." June didn't like the sound of that. She turned and frowned at him. "Yeah, that's right, ghosts aren't real," he said plainly.

June didn't want to believe him. The sensible part of her brain knew that, okay, sure, they probably weren't and June knew that was right at the back of her head all the time. But there was another part of her mind that told her not to accept that. She _wanted_ ghosts to be real.

June stuck up her nose, crossed her arms and said, "Don't believe you."

"What?" the Doctor asked, staring at the back of the girl's head in surprise.

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Mr. Sneed muttered. "Stories going back generations." The door slammed shut. Charles Dickens had left the room.

"What do you mean, you don't believe me?" the Doctor asked, taking full advantage of the small pause Sneed had left in the middle of his thoughts.

June silently laughed to herself. She was bugging him. He could get on her nerves, but she could sure get on his as well. She stayed facing away from him. "I mean what I said. I don't believe you. If I want ghosts to be real, then they sure as hell are going to be real."

"That's not how it works."

"Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul," Mr. Sneed continued before the Doctor and June could get on each other's nerves any more. "Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

"You know ghosts aren't real," the Doctor said.

"And you know I don't have to listen to you," June said. She gave him a smug smile. Rose rolled her eyes at her arguing friends.

 **~*O*~**

June had gone with the Doctor when he decided to go look for Charles Dickens. They eventually found him in the room where the corpses lay. He was inspecting the corpse and coffin of the young man, attempting to move the body to look underneath it. The Doctor leaned against the doorway and exchanged looks with June. "Checking for strings?" he asked after a moment.

Dickens looked back at them, not taking any surprise to their sudden appearance. He went to try to look under the coffin. "Wire, perhaps," he said. "There must be some mechanism behind this fraud."

"Oh, come on, Charles," the Doctor sighed as he walked towards him. June walked through the doorway, but still stood close to the edge of the room. "Alright," he continued. "I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry."

"Ooo, an apology," June smirked. "That's rare. Keep that for all you can, Dickens."

The Doctor decided to ignore her. "But you've got one of the best minds in the world," he continued. "You saw those creatures."

"I cannot accept that," Dickens insisted.

June journeyed more towards them while the Doctor explained how the creatures worked. "And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas," he said. June thought that was kind of gross. "Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it," Dickens demanded. "Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?" he asked.

"Not wrong," the Doctor said with a small smile. "There's just more to learn."

" _Much_ more to learn," June added.

Dickens sighed. "I've always railed against the fantasists. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, reveled in them, but that's exactly what they were, illusions," he rambled. "The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices, the great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of specters and jack-o'-lanterns. In which case, have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?"

June smiled at the author and answered his question, although it hadn't been addressed to her. "I don't think so, no. I don't think anyone wastes their time here. It's just a bit different than you thought it would be."

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor and June had left Dickens and went instead to find Rose and Gwyneth. They walked into the middle of Gwyneth having a sort of psychic episode. They stood in the doorway of the pantry, unbeknownst to the two women in the room. They managed to catch the last few moments of their conversation.

"I can't help it," Gwyneth told Rose shakily. "Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said that I had the sight. She told me to hide it."

"But it's getting stronger," the Doctor said, making the two girls jump, "more powerful, is that right?" he asked.

"All the time, sir," Gwyneth admitted. "Every night, voices in my head."

"You grew up on top of the rift," the Doctor explained. "You're part of it. You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir," Gwyneth muttered. "Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts."

To June's surprise, the Doctor smiled. "Well, that should help," he said. "You can show us what to do."

Everyone else was confused. No one knew what he was talking about. And he hadn't mentioned anything to June during the walk over. Gwyneth asked the question they were all wondering. "What to do where, sir?"

"We're going to have a séance," the Doctor said. And June grinned wildly.

 **~*O*~**

"So, Doctor," June said as the Doctor took a seat in the chair next to her, "will happy haunts materialize, and begin to vocalize during this séance?" The Doctor didn't reply, he simply frowned at her. Though, if she looked close enough, she could see brief amusement in his eyes. "And does that make Gwyneth the ghost host?" she asked, nodding to the girl sitting on the opposite side of the Doctor, at the head of the table.

"You have to stop," he said with a small smile.

June shook her head. "Nope."

"What are you two talking about?" Rose asked as she took a seat in the chair next to June.

"I'm making Haunted Mansion references and it's annoying him," June told her.

"You're not even using them in jokes, June," the Doctor said. "You're just restating the lines and laughing at it because it's a reference to the Haunted Mansion."

"You know, I've never been on that," Rose said. June frowned at her. "The Haunted Mansion."

"We'll go someday," June told her. "You'll love it."

"We're not going to go to Disneyland when we have the whole universe to see," the Doctor protested. He looked offended at the mere suggestion. June rolled her eyes.

Rose watched Gwyneth for a moment. She seemed… happy. Rose didn't understand how she didn't feel nervous or scared. She leaned closer to June. "Do you think she's okay?" she asked her in a whisper.

June looked at Gwyneth as well. She didn't seem nervous. She just smiled and waited, probably lost in her thoughts. June nodded. "Yeah, she seems fine." June saw Rose frown. "Isn't that good?" she asked.

"How could you not be nervous before you're about to hold a Séance?" Rose asked.

June thought about it for a moment. "I see your point," she muttered. She tugged on her lip, thinking. "But, I'm sure it's nothing." Rose frowned. "People can smile when they're feeling anxious, you know."

"Is everyone ready to start?" the Doctor asked. Both of the girls turned to look at him. Dickens and Mr. Sneed had finally joined them around the circular table. Everyone was silent. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," he said. He nodded at Gwyneth.

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town," Gwyneth prefaced. "Come, we must all join hands."

June suddenly felt very relieved to be sitting between her two friends. The Doctor held his hand out to her and smiled. June took it and rolled her eyes. She took Rose's hand too. She didn't seem to be feeling so awkward about holding a stranger's, in this case, Mr. Sneed's, hand.

"I can't take part in this," Dickens grumbled. He shot up from his chair and hovered by the table.

"Humbug? Come on, open mind," the Doctor urged.

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask," Dickens protested. "Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing." Gwyneth's face dropped at his words. She stared down at the table, quietly. June felt bad for the girl.

"Now, don't antagonize her," the Doctor said. "I love a happy medium." He grinned at June and Rose.

June smirked and Rose laughed softly. "I can't believe you just said that," Rose muttered.

"Come on," the Doctor urged, "we might need you." Dickens, very reluctantly, sat back down. "Good man," the Doctor grinned. "Now, Gwyneth, reach out."

Gwyneth's eyes glazed over. "Speak to us," she said. "Are you there? Spirits, come." Her eyes stared upwards, looking left to right to left again. "Speak to us that we may relieve your burden."

A soft whispering brushed against June's ears and she shivered. "Can you hear that?" Rose asked, mouth agape.

"Nothing can happen," Dickens immediately argued. "This is sheer folly."

"Look at her," Rose said, nodding at Gwyneth.

Gwyneth stared up at the ceiling, rocking back and forth in her chair. "I see them," she breathed. "I feel them." Tendrils of blue gas drifted into the room and swirled around their heads. June felt the urge to reach out and touch one but stayed put.

"What's it saying?" Rose asked.

"They can't get through the rift," the Doctor said. "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!" Gwyneth cried.

"Yes, you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth," the Doctor encouraged. "Make the link."

She lowered her head and opened her eyes. "Yes." The gas formed towering, humanoid outlines behind her. Gwyneth continued to stare into nothingness. Something about it made June shiver.

"Great god," Mr. Sneed gasped. "Spirits from the other side."

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor said.

And then they spoke. "Pity us." Their voices were high, almost like children's, and chorusing, echoing off the walls of the room. It sounded like their voices were everywhere. June squirmed in her seat. Something didn't feel right. "Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us."

"What do you want us to do?" the Doctor asked.

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift," they said. "Make the bridge."

"What for?" the Doctor asked.

"We are so very few," they said. "The last of our kind. We face extinction."

The Doctor frowned. "Why, what happened?"

"Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came," they said.

"War?" Dickens asked. "What war?"

"The Time War." June and Rose both looked over at the Doctor. He stared down at the table and only glanced up at them for a second. "The whole universe convulsed." June squeezed the Doctor's hand in an attempt to be comforting. He looked away. "The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses," the Doctor guessed.

"We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again," they said. "We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned." ' _Abandoned_.' Although the word was technically right, it felt wrong to refer to the body of someone who had passed as abandoned, like it had been left without a care in the world. "They're going to waste. Give them to us."

"But we can't," Rose said.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked.

"It's not—" her words fell. "I mean, it's not—"

"Not decent?" the Doctor said. "Not polite? It could save their lives."

"But at the expense of bodies that used to belong to living, breathing people," June said. She still didn't know how she felt about it.

"Oh, not you too," the Doctor complained.

"Open the rift," they said. "Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth." The Gelth disappeared and Gwyneth fell forward.

Rose rushed around the table, immediately going to the girl's side. "Gwyneth?"

"All true," Dickens said.

June glanced at the Doctor. "I don't think I'm so excited about ghosts anymore."

"Are you okay?" Rose asked Gwyneth who was slowly regaining consciousness.

"It's all true," Dickens sighed.

 **~*O*~**

It took a while for Gwyneth to wake up. She was laid on a chaise lounge at the back of the room. Rose hovered over her, constantly keeping an eye on the girl. June leaned against the wall next to the Doctor, both silently watching and waiting. Dickens and Sneed hadn't left the table, still shaken from the encounter.

Gwyneth stirred and immediately went to sit up, but Rose stopped her. "It's alright. You just sleep."

"But my angels miss," Gwyneth said. "They came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth," the Doctor said. "You're their only chance of survival."

Rose turned to him. "I've told you, leave her alone," she snapped. "She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles." The Doctor sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Rose handed Gwyneth a glass of water. "Drink this."

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Mr. Sneed asked. "Explain it again. What are they?"

"Aliens," the Doctor said.

"I wanted real ghosts," June muttered.

"Like foreigners, you mean?" Mr. Sneed asked.

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there." He pointed to the ceiling.

"Brecon?" Mr. Sneed asked.

"Close," the Doctor said. June snickered. "And they've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then, they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

June gaped at him. "'Test drive the bodies'?" It sounded horrific to say. The Doctor shrugged.

"Which is why they need the girl," Dickens guessed.

"They're not having her," Rose argued.

"But she can help," the Doctor said. "Living on the rift, she's become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through."

"Incredible," Dickens said, although he didn't sound very impressed at all. "Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system," the Doctor said, nodding. "It might work."

Rose whipped around and marched up to him. She looked disgusted. "You can't let them run around inside of dead people," she argued.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked. "It's like recycling."

"'Recycling'?" June gaped. Recycling corpses, bodies that used to be people with lives and loved ones. It was like recycling someone's life.

"I don't need you fighting me, too," the Doctor sighed, glancing at the brunette.

"Seriously though, you can't," Rose said.

"Seriously though, I can," the Doctor argued.

"It's just wrong," Rose insisted. "Those bodies we reliving people. We should respect them even in death."

"Do you carry a donor card?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, come on," June sighed. He couldn't pull that. It wasn't the same.

"That's different," Rose muttered. June nodded. "That's—"

"It's different, yeah. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home." There was silence. June gaped up at the Doctor, but he seemed set in what he had said.

"Oh, shut up," June scoffed, crossing her arms. He stared down at her with his piercing blue eyes, obviously not in the mood to argue anymore. "At least fucking think about what you're saying."

"Language," he said.

June ignored him. "You're talking like we're just containers. Fucking Tupperware. Once the old food's tossed out, you can just put some new food in."

The Doctor shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Well if that's not what you're saying you should chose your words a little better," June snapped. She began to feel antsy, as if anger pulsed through her veins. "You're talking like we're trash, like we're goddamn plastic bottles. It doesn't work like that."

He glowered at her. "I'm sorry I'm don't see you humans as the most important race in the universe," he grumbled. "There are other races out there who need more help than you do."

"I'm not saying that you should or that you should or that there aren't," June said through tightly gritted teeth. "I'm saying that you can't talk about us like we're puppets to be used over and over again." She sucked in a breath, stepped closer to him, and added in a whisper, "I respect your dead, I expect you to respect mine."

The Doctor's jaw clenched. June realized that she could've just made a huge mistake. "Hallway." His voice was stiff.

"Fine."

The room was dead silent as they left.

 **~*O*~**

The first thing the Doctor said was, "That was too far."

June shook her head. "No, it really wasn't."

"June—"

She interrupted, "' _It's like recycling_.'" They were both silent. Neither of them wanted to look at each other. June felt bad, she really did. She hated using what had happened against him. But she had to make a point. It almost didn't feel worth it. But who was she more loyal to? The Doctor or the human race? "Listen," she said. "I know we need to save the Gelth. I know that you feel obligated to save them. And yeah, I have an issue with the bodies being used, but if we have no other way, I can't exactly refuse, can I?" He finally looked at her. "I do have an issue with you treating it like it's nothing. You're talking like it's perfectly fine to replace the people who lived inside those bodies. This will have consequences and it will hurt living people." He opened his mouth, but June stopped him again. "And also, that donor card comment was basically manipulative."

He gaped at her. "Manipulative?"

"You don't get to make Rose feel guilty for disagreeing with you," June said. "You could've said that you get where she's coming from, even if you don't, but insist that there is no other option. Donating an organ is not the same as donating a face and a body. You don't see organs. You don't watch organs grow up. You don't love organs. A body is a vessel for someone to grow and live and love. It's not the same."

The Doctor shook his head. "You can't let this bother you so much, June. This is how the universe works. There are so many races, so many lives out there that tough choices have to be made and I'm usually the one who has to make them."

"I know," she shot. "Don't act like I don't know that. I said I wouldn't fucking stop you from letting the Gelth take the bodies. I'm not pissed because you're making tough decisions. I'm pissed because you're acting like it's absolutely nothing. Have some goddamn empathy and realize that there are going to be consequences."

"Don't tell me I don't have empathy," he grumbled.

"If you have empathy then fucking use it," June said. "Realize that after this, there's going to be a lot of pain. The bodies the Gelth want to use aren't even buried. There are funerals being planned. How the hell are these peoples' loved ones going to react when they see that the body of someone they love is gone? It's going to be heartbreaking."

"I don't have time to worry about that," the Doctor told her.

"You have time to acknowledge it," June argued. "What if it was me, huh?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"What if one of those bodies the Gelth want take was mine?" she asked. "Could you do it so easily then? Because last time I checked, we were friends, no matter how much we might disagree, we're supposed to care about each other, right?" The Doctor was silent. "And how would you tell my family, huh? My parents, my little sister? My best friends? What would that do to them?"

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his face. "We're wasting time. We have to go back." June hoped that she made the point across.

He turned to the door, but June stopped him before he walked inside. "I'm sorry for fighting."

The Doctor glanced back at her. "Well, I guess I'm sorry too." June managed a smile.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor wasted no time getting back to business. "You heard what the Gelth said, time's short." He glanced at Rose. "I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"I don't care," Rose muttered. "They're not using her."

Gwyneth sat up. "Don't I get a say, miss?"

They all turned to her. "Look, you don't understand what's going on," Rose told her.

"You would say that, miss, because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid," Gwyneth said.

"That's not fair," Rose argued.

"It's true, though," Gwyneth insisted. "Things might be very different where you're from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me. Doctor," she looked up at him, "what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything," the Doctor said. That seemed much more like the Doctor June knew.

"They've been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mam on a holy mission. So, tell me," she said.

The Doctor smiled. "We need to find the rift." He walked to the other side of the room where Sneed and Dickens sat. "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where the most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the morgue," Mr. Sneed said.

Rose sat down next to Gwyneth. "No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?"

 **~*O*~**

The morgue was cold and dark and there was such an obvious absence of life that when the small group of uncomfortable conspirators walked into the room, the absence only seemed to feel worse. June tried to stay in the middle of the room and look anywhere else but at the recently deceased under white sheets. She had never been so close to a corpse before. It made her so unbelievably uncomfortable that she just wanted to hide.

"Urgh. Talk about Bleak House," the Doctor muttered, standing in the middle of the room and gazing around.

"The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed, 'cos I know they don't," Rose said. "I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux, changing every second," the Doctor told her. "Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that." He snapped his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

"That's great, anything else you want to make us worry about?" June asked, crossing her arms. "How about the Butterfly Effect? Or…" she stopped and thought for a moment, "I don't know, the illuminati?"

"I think I prefer the Haunted Mansion jokes to your sarcasm," he said, glancing at her over his shoulder and smiling.

"Doctor, I think the room is getting colder," Dickens said.

The whispering began to fill the room again and the gas lamps around the room glowed blue. "Here they come," Rose said.

One of the Gelth whipped through the room and formed under a large archway. June shivered upon seeing it. "You've come to help," the Gelth said. "Praise the Doctor. Praise him."

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose yelled.

The Gelth didn't promise anything. "Hurry!" they cried. "Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth."

The Doctor walked up to the blue ghost. "I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?" June smiled at the back of his head. He would make sure that it was going to be okay, the bodies would be okay.

"My angels," Gwyneth said, gazing up at them. "I can help them live."

"Okay, where's the weak point?" the Doctor asked.

"Here, beneath the arch," the Gelth answered.

Gwyneth wasted no time getting to where she needed to be. "Beneath the arch." June ignored the voice in her head that told her something was wrong, it had to just be anxiety.

Rose rushed over to the girl. "You don't have to do this."

Gwyneth cupped her face in her hands. "My angels."

Rose jerked away as the Gelth spoke. "Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through!"

"Yes, I can see you." Gwyneth looked like she was made of glass. Her eyes were wide, bright, and unseeing. Her body was so stiff that it felt like one move would make her break. "I can see you. Come!"

"Bridgehead establishing."

June looked to the Doctor. She tried to read his expression. He looked concerned enough, but she couldn't tell if he was detecting something wrong under the surface. She wished he was easier to read. She wished she knew if her bad feeling was just her or if he felt it too.

"Come to me," Gwyneth said, her voice airy and light, more like the voice of a ghost than the voice of a human girl. "Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

"It is begun. The bridge is made."

Gwyneth's mouth opened. A bright light shone from within. The Gelth came pouring out, filling the room and soaring in the air. Everyone turned to watch them fly about, racing towards the bodies of the dead.

"She has given herself to the Gelth," the Gelth said. "The bridge is open. We descend." The Gelth's figure suddenly turned ominous. Where it had once been a floating blue spirit, it was now a flaming red monster with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes.

"Oh, fuck," June muttered, immediately grabbing for the Doctor.

The Gelth's soft, sweet voice was replaced by a deep gravely one. "The Gelth will come through in force."

"You said you were few in number!" Dickens yelled.

"A few billion," the Gelth said. June winced. "And all of us in need of corpses."

The dead began to rise, pushing their sheets off of their bodies, their eyes bright blue and empty. The Gelth had taken over.

"Gwyneth, stop this!" Mr. Sneed yelled, carefully walking towards the girl. "Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you—"

"Mr. Sneed, get back!" Rose shouted.

As soon as the corpse grabbed Mr. Sneed, a protective arm wrapped around June's waist and pulled her as far away as possible. June couldn't look away from Mr. Sneed struggling against the corpse. She knew that she should, but she couldn't. June grabbed the Doctor's arm and dug anxious fingers into his sleeve. ' _Stop this. Make it stop'_. But then there was a loud crack and Mr. Sneed's head snapped to the side. June shrieked and covered her eyes. No, she couldn't have just seen him die. No, she didn't want that.

The Doctor pushed June to stand behind him. And when June opened her eyes again, the Gelth had taken over Mr. Sneed's body. "I think it's gone a little bit wrong," the Doctor said.

"No shit, Sherlock," June hissed.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth," Mister Sneed chorused with the voices of the Gelth. "Come, march with us."

"We need bodies." The Gelth rose and began to stalk towards them. June was pushed farther away towards the back wall by the Doctor. He kept the two girls behind him, standing between them and the Gelth. "All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead." June stumbled on her feet and glanced backwards. They were being backed against an iron rod gate.

"Gwyneth, stop them!" the Doctor shouted. "Send them back now!"

"Four more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth." June's back hit the iron rod gate. She swore under her breath and wanted to do nothing but shut her eyes, but it felt impossible to do.

"Doctor, I can't. I'm sorry," Dickens called.

The Doctor turned and opened the iron rod gate. He pushed June and Rose into the small room behind it and pulled the gate shut behind him.

"This new world of yours is too much for me!" Dickens yelled. "I'm so—" and then he was gone with the loud wailing. At least he had managed to escape.

The Gelth stuck their arms through the iron rod gate, desperately reaching for June, the Doctor, and Rose. They all stood with their backs against the wall, facing their immediate death. "Give yourself to glory," the Gelth said. "Sacrifice your lives for the Gleth."

"I trusted you," the Doctor sneered. "I pitied you!"

"We don't want your pity," the Gelth said. "We want this world and all it's flesh."

"Not while I'm alive," the Doctor protested.

"Then live no more," the Gelth said.

"But I can't die," Rose said. "Tell me I can't. I haven't even been born yet. Neither has June. It's impossible for me us die. Isn't it?"

The Doctor looked down at the blonde. "I'm sorry." Because that wasn't how it worked. June knew that wasn't how it worked. She had been told before but never thought that she would be so close to death.

"But it's 1869. How can I die now?" Rose asked.

"Time isn't a straight line," the Doctor explained. "It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it's all my fault. I brought you two here."

"It's not your fault," the girls chorused, June much louder than Rose.

"It's not like you wanted this to happen," June said, leaning against the back wall.

"I wanted to come," Rose muttered.

"What about me?" the Doctor asked. "I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon. In Cardiff."

"You don't usually get to choose how you die," June muttered. "I definitely wouldn't've chosen this."

"It's not just dying," Rose said. "We'll become one of them." The Gelth still struggled at the gate.

"Oh, don't remind me." June wanted to imagine that this was all okay. She couldn't die in danger. She would die somewhere safe, somewhere where she was loved. She was trying her best to preserve that image.

"We'll go down fighting, yeah?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," the Doctor said.

"Of course," June agreed.

Rose looked between the two of them. "Together?"

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. He took June's hand tightly in his. She felt better to have a little bit of the comfort.

"I'm so glad I met you," the Doctor told Rose.

"Me too," Rose said.

The Doctor looked at June. He kissed the back of her hand. "You are one of the most incredible people I've ever met," he said.

The situation should not have involved blushing and yet, June was blushing. "You are too," she said. "I don't regret this for a moment."

"Me too." They smiled at each other.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Dickens ran back into the room. June could see him just through the crowd of Gelth which still crowded the gate. "Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What're you doing?" the Doctor asked.

"Turn it all on! Flood the place!" Dickens ran to the nearest gas lamp and began to work at it.

"Brilliant. Gas," the Doctor said.

"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose asked.

"I'd rather that then having my neck snapped," June muttered.

"Am I correct, Doctor?" Dickens asked. "These creatures are gaseous."

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Why the hell didn't we think of this before?" June asked. She looked up at the Doctor with furrowed eyebrows. "Why the hell didn't _you_ think of this before? I thought you were supposed to be all clever and smart?"

"Ah, well…" he sighed.

The Gelth turned their attention from the three behind the gate to Dickens. Dickens wavered under their stares. "I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately."

"Plenty more!" the Doctor shouted. He turned and ripped a gas pipe from the wall.

The Gelth were sucked out of the corpses with a loud, high pitched wailing. The blue wisps swirled in the air and the bodies collapsed to the floor. "It's working," Dickens noted, nodding his head as he watched the action.

June coughed, the gas that filled the room making it difficult to breathe. She pulled one of her black gloves off and covered her mouth. The Doctor opened the iron rod gate and ran out into the morgue, June and Rose following. "Gwyneth, send them back!" he yelled. "They lied! They're not angels."

Gwyneth's body slumped, but she still seemed too emotionless. "Liars?" she asked.

"Look at me." They walked towards her. June was still breathing through her glove, but her lungs struggled to hold any air. "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"

"I can't breathe," Rose coughed.

"Charles, get them out," the Doctor ordered.

Dickens walked over and grabbed Rose's arm, but she quickly pulled away from him. "I'm not leaving her!" she cried.

Dickens looked over at June. "And I'm not leaving him," she said, nodding at the Doctor. "You leave him for—" she coughed, "—five minutes and he ends up doing something stupid." She heaved and gasped for air. She clapped her glove over her mouth again.

"They're too strong," Gwyneth said.

"Remember that world you saw?" the Doctor asked. "Rose's world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

"I can't send them back," Gwyneth insisted. "But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out." She pulled a box of matches out of her pocket.

June's stomach dropped. "No," she gasped.

Her gasp was nothing compared to how Rose ran to the woman, shrieking, "You can't!"

Rose was held back by the Doctor. "Rose, get out," he ordered. "Go now. I won't leave her while she's still in danger. Now go!" He let her go and then snapped his eyes to June. "You too. Get out of here!"

"Stay safe for fuck's sake," she coughed at him. He nodded silently. Dickens gabbed June's arm and pulled her out of the morgue.

 **~*O*~**

The air felt nice. June was relieved to breathe again. They ran across the street from the house, anxiously awaiting the Doctor and Gwyneth's escape. Something told June it wasn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows at the end.

Rose seemed more anxious than June was. She paced around, keeping her eyes sealed on the house, muttering to herself. "Oh, hurry up." And Dickens was catching his breath after so long breathing in gas.

Everything stopped when the door to the house flew open. They all looked over, expecting to see the Doctor and Gwyneth escaping. Instead, they had looked just in time to see the house explode. June's stomach dropped. She couldn't see anyone and the house was in flames. She ran towards the building, not sure exactly what she was thinking, and then ran right into the Doctor.

He grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling over. "Ow," she muttered. She looked around, but there was no Gwyneth anywhere. She winced to herself, realizing what had happened.

Rose and Dickens ran over to them. They were all silent. Rose stared at the Doctor and upon realizing what had happened, muttered, "She didn't make it."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "She closed the rift."

"At such a cost," Dickens sighed. "The poor child."

"At least she was a hero," June said. She could feel the warmth coming from the building. Looking at it hurt her eyes. "She saved the world."

"I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead," the Doctor said.

June looked up at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "What?"

He looked between the two girls quietly. "She had been for at least five minutes."

Rose shook her head. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor stared back at the burning building. "I think she was dead form the minute she stood in that arch."

"But she can't have," Rose denied, her voice weak. June could remember how glassy Gwyneth looked, like she could break. She had a horrible twisting sensation in her stomach. She had been dead the whole time. "She spoke to us," Rose said. "She helped us. She saved us. How could she have done that?"

"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Dickens said. His eyes trained on the Doctor. "Even for you, Doctor."

"She saved the world," Rose muttered. "A servant girl. No one will ever know."

"We know," June said. "And we won't forget about it, will we?"

Everyone nodded. A silent agreement.

 **~*O*~**

June felt a weight lift off her shoulders as they walked up to the TARDIS. Safety and warmth. She couldn't ask for much more.

"Right then, Charlie boy, I've just got to go into my, er, shed," the Doctor told Dickens. "Won't be long." He began to unlock the door.

"What are you going to do now?" Rose asked.

"I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste," Dickens said with an excited smile. "This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital."

June smiled. "The best way to spend Christmas."

"It is indeed," Dickens grinned.

"You've cheered up," the Doctor noted. The smiling seemed contagious.

"Exceedingly!" Dickens exclaimed. He chuckled. "This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I've just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I'm inspired. I must write about them."

"Do you think that's wise?" Rose asked.

"I shall be subtle at first," Dickens said. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word, tell the truth."

"What if the uncle wasn't of this Earth, but was disguised to fit in with humans," June suggested.

Dickens grinned. "That's quite interesting. You have a knack for storytelling, don't you?"

June laughed. "Not really. I just read a lot."

"It is a good idea," Dickens said. "I shall ponder on it."

"Good luck with it," the Doctor said. "Nice to meet you." They shook hands. "Fantastic."

June held her hand out to the author. "Nice to meet you, Charles." They shook hands. "Have a nice Christmas."

Dickens grinned at her. "Have a good one as well."

Rose shook his hand, too. "Bye then, and thanks." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Oh, my dear. How modern," Dickens muttered. June laughed seeing how flustered he was. "Thank you, but, I don't understand. In what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"You'll see. In the shed." The Doctor nodded at the TARDIS.

Dickens stopped them from going inside. "Upon my soul, Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you."

June snickered. "You have no idea."

"But after all these revelations, there's still one mystery you haven't explained," Dickens said. "Answer me this. Who are you?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment. June raised an eyebrow at him. After a moment, he decided on, "Just a friend passing through."

"But you have such knowledge of future times," Dickens said. "I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?"

The Doctor laughed. "Oh, yes."

"For how long?"

"Forever."

"Some of the most well-known stories ever," June added.

"Right," the Doctor said. "Shed. Come on, girls."

"In the box?" Dickens asked as the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS. "All three of you?"

The Doctor looked back at him. "Down boy. See you."

June gave one more smile to Charles Dickens and then stepped into the TARDIS.

 **~*O*~**

June took off her jacket and tossed it and her backpack towards the console room seat but missed it. She pouted as her things landed on the floor.

"Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?" Rose asked.

They gathered around the scanner which showed a clear picture of Charles Dickens staring up at the TARDIS in confusion. "In a week's time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies," the Doctor said. "Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story."

"Aw," June complained.

"Oh, no. He was so nice," Rose muttered.

"But in your time, he was already dead," the Doctor reminded them. "We've brought him back to life, and he's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie boy. Let's give him one last surprise."

The TARDIS took off and they were able to see a few moments of the stunned look on Charles Dicken's face before they were off into space.

* * *

 **So, what did you guys think of the chapter?**

 **Again, this is it for the Unquiet Dead and next chapter starts Aliens of London. I haven't got a lot of Aliens of London written, so it might take me a little while to post, but I'm still hoping to post next week.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	14. Aliens of London (Part 1)

**Hey guys!**

 **Here's the next chapter! Today we start Aliens of London. I _think_ it's only going to be two parts, but I don't have the rest written yet so...**

 **Anyway, I really do like this two-parter, however, I hate the Slitheen with a burning passion. So it's a challenge whenever I have to watch these episodes. How do you guys feel about it?**

 **There's not a lot of action in this chapter, but I still think it's pretty cute.**

 **I won't keep you waiting any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

 **Aliens of London part 1**

London, 2005. Rose wanted to visit her mom. The three time travelers were greeted with a cold London day. June leaned against the TARDIS doors, rubbing her arms to keep warm.

"How long have I been gone?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"About twelve hours," the Doctor said. Rose grinned and laughed. She spun, staring up at the familiar buildings around her. The Doctor laughed too. June watched her friends with a small smile, shoving her hands in her pockets. It was nice to see them look so care-free.

"Oh. Right," Rose said. "I won't be long. I just want to see my mum." She started off towards her building.

"What are you going to tell her?" the Doctor asked.

Rose looked back at them. She shrugged. "I don't know." She smiled. "I've been to the year five billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours?" The Doctor snickered. "No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Shareen's." She waved to them as she walked off. "See you two later!" She spun towards them before she was too far away. "Oh, don't you two disappear!" June and the Doctor both gave silent nods of acknowledgment and Rose ran off.

June yawned and rubbed her eyes. The Doctor wandered around the small square section of street they had landed in. June smiled faintly and followed him. "Look, it's just the two of us again," she said.

The Doctor nodded and grinned at her. "Just like old times."

"By old times you mean like, two days ago," she muttered. She pulled on a chunk of her hair and looked around at the grey buildings and street.

The Doctor watched her closely. The bags under her eyes had gotten significantly worse since she had started traveling with him. She never usually seemed tired, but today was different. She seemed exhausted. It was like she was sleepwalking right in front of him.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Are you thinking about visiting home?" He asked.

June nodded. She shuffled her feet awkwardly. "A bit," she muttered. She was quiet, staring off to nowhere in particular. She shifted on her feet. "But they'll find out when I go home." She turned and looked up at him. "And I don't think my parents or Grace are going to be so happy about me lying to them and running off to travel through time and space."

"Don't tell them anything, then," the Doctor said, shrugging.

"Yeah, I wasn't going to," she muttered. "Doesn't mean that they won't find out somehow." She hugged herself. "It's just a bad feeling, you know?"

He gave her a lopsided smile. He ruffled her bushy hair, earning an alarmed glare from her. "Don't worry about it, June," he said.

June crossed her arms and glared up at him. "Yeah, ruffle my hair like that again, and I'll slap you," she grumbled.

The Doctor frowned. "Why can't I?" He watched as she wandered away a bit.

"Because it makes me feel like a kid!" June called back to him.

And then something caught her eye. A flickering paper on a concrete pillar. She walked up and pushed the corner of the paper back. She frowned upon realizing it was a missing person poster. She scanned over it to grab the details and only then did she see how bad it really was. The missing person was Rose Tyler.

"Doctor!" June yelled.

"What did you find?" he asked, jogging over to her.

She moved out of the way so he could look at the poster. She saw him gulp. They exchanged nervous looks. The Doctor grabbed June's hand and they ran off.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor pushed through the door to the Tyler's apartment. June wondered if they could just break in like that. They only stopped running when they stood in the doorway of the living room. Rose and her mother stopped hugging just to look over at them, both utterly confused.

"It's not twelve hours," the Doctor said, "it's twelve months." June cringed. It sounded so bad. "You've been gone a whole year." He grinned nervously. "Sorry." He glanced at June. She shook her head, a look of warning in her eyes. He stopped grinning.

 **~*O*~**

Jackie Tyler could yell. She could yell loudly. June felt very anxious, glancing between the blonde woman and the policeman she had called. She almost hid behind the Doctor. Rose sat in one of the living room chairs with that look on her face. That one someone got when they were being shouted at by their mother in front of their friends. A mix of terror and awkwardness displayed in wide, unblinking eyes. June felt bad for her, but mostly wanted to get the hell out of there.

"The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own!" Jackie shouted at her daughter. June, wide eyed, leaned her head against the Doctor's arm and tried to look anywhere else. "I thought you were dead, and where were you? Traveling! What the hell does that mean, traveling? That's no sort of an answer!" Jackie stood next to the police officer. "You ask her. She won't tell me. That's all she says. Traveling!"

June was suddenly very thankful that her parents weren't like that. They were more of a fan of the disappointed-toned guilt trip… which… when she thought about it… might actually be worse than being shouted at. They never did yell at her. However, Grace… Grace could yell like an angry mother. One time, June had heard her arguing with a (now ex) boyfriend and her eardrums had almost ruptured from the other room.

"That's what I was doing," Rose muttered weakly.

"When your passport's still in the drawer?" Jackie argued. "It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone," Rose said. "I really did. I just… forgot." June cringed. That sounded bad.

"What, for a year?" Jackie yelled. "You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here! I just don't believe you! Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

"Actually—" the Doctor started, speaking up for the first time in the whole conversation. June leaned back and stared at him, unsure of what he planned to say. "—it's my fault." June shook her head, attempting to warn him not to go down this path. "I sort of, er, employed Rose as my companion." He grinned nervously.

"When you say companion, is this a sexual relationship?" the policeman asked.

The Doctor and Rose both looked horrified. June shuttered, feeling all too awkward, and went to sit down at the table small, round table next to her. "No!" the Doctor and Rose protested.

"Then what is it?" Jackie demanded, storming over to the Doctor. June tensed a bit. She wondered how easy it would be to book it to the front door and escape. "Because you, you waltz in here all charm and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the Earth!" Jackie shouted. "How old are you then? Forty? Forty-five?" June almost laughed. She tried to sink down in her chair further. _If Jackie knew_. "What, did you find her on the internet?" Jackie asked. "Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a Doctor," the Doctor argued lightly.

"Prove it!" Jackie spat. "Stitch this, mate!"

She slapped him. And it was a good slap, which meant that it probably hurt a lot. It could be heard across the room. June couldn't stop herself from gasping loudly and clapping a hand over her mouth. She leapt up from her chair and rushed over to him. The Doctor whined and held his hand to his cheek. June moved his hand away and cringed when she saw the bright red, stinging hand mark. She ran her thumb against his cheek in an attempt to be comforting.

"And who are you!?" Jackie demanded.

June froze and glanced over at Rose's mom. She wasn't sure if she was too fond of Jackie. She understood where the woman was coming from but _Jesus Christ_. She didn't look at her for long. "June," June said.

"June?" Jackie asked. "Is that it, just June?" June gritted her teeth. "Do you have a last name or anything?"

June turned back to the woman and frowned down at her. "I'm June Harlow," she deadpanned. "I travel with him." She nodded towards the Doctor. "And yes, I travel with him willingly, nothing weird. Don't get any ideas."

Jackie took a deep breath. "Do your parents know where you are?" she asked. She was still clearly upset, but she sounded calmer.

June stopped for a moment. She thought about it and then shrugged. "They know I'm traveling. They know I'm in Europe. They know I'm safe. They don't need to know where I am at all times." Jackie frowned at her. "I'm twenty-two," June continued. "I haven't lived with my parents in four years. They're used to not knowing where I am at all times." June turned back to the Doctor. He still rubbed his cheek. She tried to give him a comforting smile.

 **~*O*~**

It was windy on the roof. June let her legs dangle off of the topmost roof platform. The Doctor leaned against the half-wall next to her, his arms crossed. They had slipped out when Rose and Jackie had left the room.

"Hey," June said. The Doctor glanced over at her. "Don't drop me off a year later than I left." She smiled, almost teasingly.

He laughed very slightly. "No promises."

She leaned over and rested one of her arms on his shoulder. "I'm serious," she said with a smile. "You have a couple months of leeway, but that's it." They both laughed a bit. "How's your cheek?" she asked.

"Sore," he grumbled. "Your mum better not slap me."

June laughed. "Yeah," she sighed, "don't worry. That's not like her. That's much more like Grace though, so you're not out of the clear."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, great."

June sighed and then went quiet. The Doctor turned to look at her, frowning. She looked back at him after a moment. "I don't think I want to visit home for a while," she said. "Not after _that_." She shook her head.

"Was it that traumatic for you?" he asked, smirking. She gave him a blank look. "You weren't the one who was slapped."

June rolled her eyes, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "It's just—" she groaned and ran her hands down her face. "I don't want to see another reaction like that. She doesn't even know that you're an alien for fuck's sake."

"Language."

"Oh, bite me." She laid down, back against the roof. She closed her eyes and let her body sag with exhaustion.

 **~*O*~**

Rose eventually joined them. She sat next to June. "I can't tell her," she said. "I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive me. And I missed a year. Was it good?"

"Middling," the Doctor said.

"You're so useless," Rose muttered. June gave her a disapproving look. _Don't push it._

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" the Doctor asked. June gave him the same look. _Don't push it_.

Rose sighed and looked over at him. "I don't know," she said. "I can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us," the Doctor said.

They all laughed. "No chance," Rose said.

"I don't do families," the Doctor said with a grin.

"She slapped you!" Rose laughed.

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother." The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm surprised," June giggled, leaning against his shoulder.

He smiled back at her. "Oh, don't you start."

"Your face!" Rose exclaimed, laughing at the memory.

"It hurt!" the Doctor complained. He put his hand on his cheek. June only laughed at him more.

"You're so gay," Rose laughed. The laughing died after a few moments. "When you say nine hundred years?"

"That's my age," the Doctor told her.

"You're nine hundred years old," Rose said.

"Yeah."

Rose frowned at June, looking for confirmation. June laughed softly and nodded. When he had told her, she hadn't believed him. She had just laughed and told him that he didn't look nine hundred. But now, there was no doubt in her mind that he was. She hadn't been able to see it at first, but sometimes, when she looked in his eyes, she could just see his age in such a way that was unexplainable.

Rose nodded. "My mum was right. That is one _hell_ of an age gap." June laughed a bit. She was right. It was one hell of an age gap. But it didn't bother June all that much. Rose slid off of the platform and walked away.

"What are you laughing about?" the Doctor asked, glancing up at June. He wore a small, interested smile.

June grinned at him. "I don't care." The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. June bit her lip. She laughed some more. "That you're nine hundred and something," she clarified. "Who _cares_?" She shook her head. "Not me." She laughed. "It's weird to think about. Because that's not normal." They both grinned.

"Every conversation with you just goes mental." Rose shook her head. "It's just me and June. There's no one else we can talk to. We've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and we can't say a word to anyone else. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet Earth who knows they exist." Rose turned to look at June. "Doesn't that bother you?"  
June was going to answer, although she didn't know what she was going to say. But there was a loud, deep honk. It wounded like a car horn, except it came from right behind them. They all spun around in time to see a small spaceship fly up above them. _Right_ above them. June's stomach dropped and she immediately flattened herself. The Doctor and Rose ducked and June wished that she had time to hop off and duck with them. Because the spaceship flew just inches above her scrunched and anxious face. June had to breathe in all the smoke it left behind.

June sat up and began coughing. She knew that if her lungs could talk, they would be cussing her out. She quickly joined the Doctor and Rose's gawking. The Doctor put a hand on her back and tried to give her a small smile, but she could tell he was all too focused on the spaceship. She couldn't blame him.

They all watched as the spaceship flew further and further into the city. It dodged large buildings and kept getting lower and lower to the ground. June was anticipating the worst. The spaceship crashed through Big Ben, the wing ripping through the clock. June winced sympathetically. The spaceship ended up crashing into the Thames. For some reason, it all felt familiar.

"Oh, that's just not fair," Rose muttered as they all stared at the black cloud of smoke rising up into the air.

The Doctor laughed excitedly, grabbed the two girls' hands, and pulled them along to the TARDIS.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor, June, and Rose ran through the crowded streets. Cars were parked in the middle of the road as soldiers and military vehicles stopped them from going any further. They stopped in the middle of the traffic, watching the events play out before their eyes. "It's blocked off," the Doctor said.

"No, really?" June asked. "I thought the streets of London usually looked like this." He snickered at her sarcasm.

"We're miles from the Centre," Rose said. "The city must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!" The Doctor laughed and beamed at the sights around him. June couldn't help but laugh with him. His enthusiasm was contagious.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Rose asked.

"Nope," the Doctor said.

"Do you recognize the ship?"

"Nope."

"Do you know what it crashed?"

"Nope."

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you," Rose sighed.

"I bet you are," the Doctor said. "This is what I travel for, Rose. To see history happening right in front of us."

"You know," June said. "I think I remember this."

"You what?" Rose asked.

"Because it happened in your past," the Doctor guessed.

June nodded. "Yeah, I was like ten. But…" she thought about the event for a moment, "I can't remember much. It's been so long. It's like there's something blocking the memories."

"Can you remember anything?" the Doctor asked.

"Um…" she stared off into space for a moment, "yeah. There was a body." She remembered her parents reacting to the news. They were shocked, calling it a hoax, and insisting that the body couldn't be real. "And something blew up." Something big. She didn't know what. "My parents didn't want me knowing so much. I was young and this was massive."

"Let's go and see it," Rose said. "Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS."

The Doctor shook his head. "Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top."

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice," Rose said.

"I dunno," June muttered. "Wouldn't a huge blue police box from the sixties be sort of suspicious?"

"She's right," the Doctor said. "Emergency like this, there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me. The TARDIS stays where it is."

Rose sighed. "So, history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes, we are," he said.

` "We could look it up on the internet," June suggested.

"2006," the Doctor reminded her.

"Oh shit, right."

"Language," he scolded. June rolled her eyes.

"We could watch it on TV, just like everyone else does," Rose said.

The Doctor didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor could not just stay on one channel.

"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting, and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene."

"The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family."

"The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American air space have been grounded."

"The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find."

"The President will address the nation live from the White House, but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies."

A friend of Jackie Tyler's had come over and the room was divided. Rose, her mother, and her mother's friend sat on one side, taking up the couch and the surrounding area. Meanwhile, June and the Doctor were isolated to one chair. June sat on the arm, preferring to stick close to the Doctor so she wouldn't have to socialize with strangers. Jackie brought out a mug for Rose and her friend, and much to her surprise, one for June. Nothing for the Doctor. June couldn't exactly blame her.

Jackie and her friend were talking over the noise of the TV. "I've got no choice," Jackie said.

"You've broken your mother's heart," Jackie's friend scolded Rose.

Jackie shook her head. "I'm not going to make him welcome." June took a small sip of the tea Jackie brought her. She wouldn't ask for honey. She wasn't going to push things.

"I cradled her like a child," Jackie's friend continued.

"Oi, I'm trying to listen," the Doctor called over his shoulder.

"I don't think you're in a place to be telling people to be quiet," June whispered to him. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

The TV droned on. "—His current whereabouts. News is just coming in. We go to Tom at the Embankment."

"They've found a body."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Told you," June sang.

"It's unconfirmed," the reporter continued, "But I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore."

People began to fill the small apartment. A welcome home party for Rose. Friends of the family gathered, talking and chatting, greeting a rather moody Rose. The Doctor was finding it difficult to watch the TV and June was tired of the constant conversation buzzing in her ear. So much was going on. She just wanted to lay back and close her eyes.

Jackie tapped June on the shoulder. "Yeah?" June asked, trying to sound the sweetest she could.

"Do you want some wine?" Jackie asked. "We've got plenty to go around."

"Oh my god, yes please," June said, nodding quickly.

"Alright. Hang tight."

"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft," the reporter on the TV said.

A moment later, Jackie passed June a glass of red wine. "Here you go, love."

"Thank you so much," June said, smiling up at the blonde woman.

"Oh, it's no problem." Jackie smiled and then shot the Doctor a nasty look before walking away. "Oh, guess who asked me out?" Jackie asked her friends, sitting down on the couch. "Billy Crewe."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. June chuckled to herself and took a drink of wine. "You're eleven," he said.

"Not here I'm not," June said. "What were you saying about time not being a straight line? I can get drunk if I want."

"Not a good idea," he said.

"We're in the middle of a party," June said. "I hate parties. I need this." She took another long drink just for good measure. The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the TV.

"—brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure UNIT mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being—"

The channel changed to a man making a cake. "And when you've stuck your fins on, you can cover the whole lot in buttercream."

The Doctor had to wrestle the TV remote away from a toddler. June couldn't help but snicker as she watched him. He shot her an annoyed look.

"Oh, look at that. Then, ice it any color you want," the man continued. "Here's one I made a bit earlier. And look at that, your very own spaceship ready to eat. And for something a little extra special—"

The channel changed back to the news. "—Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off. It's the closest to the river."

"Go on," the Doctor told the toddler, pointing him away from the TV. The child stared at him.

"You're not that good with kids," June whispered in his ear.

"Oh, hush," he scolded lightly. The toddler eventually took the hint and moved out of the way.

"I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."

The news didn't update much more after that. The reporters were just waiting for updates and drama. The welcome home party had reached a new level with loud chatter and laughter. The Doctor would spare an annoyed glance at the humans on the other side of the room from time to time and roll his eyes. June had begun to get a headache. But it didn't matter. They were allowed to have fun. Rose had been gone for a year after all.

After a few more minutes of no news and loud conversation, June leaned towards an obviously annoyed Doctor and whispered, "Do you want to get out of here?"

He gave her a look. "I think the alcohol is getting to your head." He took the almost empty wine glass out of her hand.

"Not like that!" She nudged him hard in the shoulder and quickly grabbed her drink back. "My god. No." He chuckled at her and she rolled her eyes. "I meant that there's an alien body in a hospital not so far away and we're just sitting here. Why don't we go and investigate?" He raised his eyebrow at her. "I know you want to. And besides, you're obviously annoyed with all the humans around here and I don't like parties, so let's bounce. We've got better things to do."

"I'm not annoyed with all the humans here," the Doctor said. June raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm not annoyed with you at the moment."

"That would've been cute if you hadn't added, ' _at the moment_ ,'" she said.

"I know." He smiled at her. "Let's go."

June finished off her glass of wine and she and the Doctor left the apartment.

 **~*O*~**

"And where do you two think you're going?" Rose asked, following them out of the apartment. June had assumed that no one noticed them leave, but that was apparently not the case.

"Nowhere," the Doctor said. "It's just a bit human in there for me and a little too much for her." He nodded at June. She shrugged. "History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price."

"And they're kinda loud," June said. "I mean, I guess people are supposed to be loud at parties, but my head hurts."

Rose clearly did not believe them. "We're off on a wander, that's all," the Doctor told her.

"Right. There's a spaceship on the Thames and you two're just wandering," Rose said, pointing out how ridiculous believing that statement would be.

"Nothing to do with me," the Doctor shrugged. "It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, color of smoke, everything. It's perfect."

"So?" Rose asked.

"So maybe this is it," the Doctor said. "First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and made of clay. Now you can expand." June couldn't help but giggle at the sight of his enthusiasm. "You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum. Come on, June."

They turned, but Rose stopped them again. "Promise you two won't disappear?"

June smiled at her. "Of course. We'll be back in no time."

The Doctor patted his jacket and pulled a key out of his pocket. "Tell you what. TARDIS key. 'Bout time you had one." He handed the key to Rose. "See you later."

June gave a quiet nod to Rose and then followed the Doctor down the hall towards the stairs.

 **~*O*~**

Parties were happening all over the apartment building. June could see people standing on their balconies cheering from the street below. There were signs hanging around, greeting the new aliens to the planet. June didn't remember everyone being so enthusiastic.

"Is this weird for you?" June asked. "Everyone being so excited and all about aliens."

"Not really," the Doctor said. "It's actually nice. I like to see that you humans aren't all up in arms about visitors from another world. It's a shame that this ' _crash landing_ ' likely isn't what it seems."

"People are still denying the existence of aliens in 2017," June said. He frowned at her. "They are. Even with events like this. I know more happened, but everyone thinks that they're hoaxes. If we just knew about aliens, then I wouldn't have had to keep my abduction a secret from everyone I know."

"Oi, gorgeous!" some woman yelled down at them. "Come back and join the party!"

"Who do you think she was shouting at?" June asked.

The Doctor clearly didn't seem to notice her. "How difficult was it to make a cover? No one even knew you were missing."

June rolled her eyes. "That wasn't the difficult part. It was upsetting and scary. There was a whole month between then and traveling with you where I had to cope with it on my own. My friends and family would think I'm insane if I told them the truth. But also, it makes it difficult to tell them where I've been and who you are. They might check me into a mental hospital if I ever said anything."

"I'm sorry," he said.

June frowned at him. "What?"

"You had to go through that alone. It couldn't've been easy."

She shrugged. "It wasn't the most difficult thing in the world. I've been through worse." She quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Rose's mom is going to freak out when she realizes what you are."

The Doctor shook his head. "She's not going to find out."

June scoffed and gave him a look. "You brought Rose home a year later than you intended to and on the same day a suspicious spaceship crashes into Big Ben, which we are now going to investigate. This means trouble and unless we can keep Rose away from it, her mom is going to find out. You can't exactly keep it a secret."

"You have no faith in me," he said, shaking his head, a small smile on his face.

"You expect me to?" she asked. They both laughed. "Oh, hey," she nudged his shoulder. "They're saying hello to you." June pointed to a sign that read, ' _Ello E.T.'_

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny, June."

June laughed and linked her arm through his. "I know it is. Maybe I should start calling you that."

"E.T.?" he asked.

"No, _ello_. Yes E.T."

He laughed. "Don't you dare."

"Saying that only makes me want to dare," she retorted.

They approached the TARDIS. The Doctor shook his head. "I've been a bad influence on you."

"The absolute worst," June agreed. They both chuckled.

"Also, June" he said.

"What?"

"I think she was shouting at you." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and stepped inside, leaving June to stare after him.

* * *

 **So that's it for this week! Tell me what you guys thought of the chapter!**

 **I hope to be back next week with the next chapter, however I am working a lot and I have none of the next chapter written, so it could take a little while longer, but my goal is still next weekend.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	15. Aliens of London (Part 2)

**Hey everyone!**

 **Sorry for not updating earlier. I was very busy at work.**

 **Also, did you guys start school today? I'm homeschooled so I never really stopped school, but I just want to know because I want to decide when the best time to upload a chapter is.**

 **Anyway, I'm not going to keep you guys any longer**

 **Happy reading**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **Aliens of London part 2**

June and the Doctor stepped out into a small store room. It was full of racks and boxes and other miscellaneous garbage. They pushed past the mess, June almost tripping over a box on the ground. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the door. It buzzed and the Doctor quickly shushed it.

June gaped at him. "Did you just shush an inanimate object?"

"It was being loud," he said. "Now, shush." June rolled her eyes.

When he turned the sonic on again, it was somehow quieter. He unlocked the door and gave June and excited smile. The door swung open to reveal a room full of soldiers. Everyone froze. June had to stop herself from groaning. Out of all the rooms they could've walked into, they had to walk into the one full of people that could shoot them.

And immediately, all of the soldiers went for their guns. They cocked their weapons and aimed them at the Doctor and June. Granted, June couldn't exactly blame them. She and the Doctor had shown up out of nowhere in the middle of a suspicious, otherworldly emergency. They all had the right to assume that they would be threats. They had no clue that they were both innocent.

The Doctor smiled a very obviously annoyed smile at the soldiers. June gave him a look that screamed, ' _get us out of this_.' But he didn't have to do anything. Because even not a moment later, a high-pitched scream echoed through the halls of the hospital and June's stomach dropped. Something had happened, something more important than two people walking out of a store room.

The Doctor grabbed June's hand and pulled her through the crowd of soldiers, shouting, "Defense plan delta! Come on!"

Someone shouted, "Move! Move!"

June said, "What?" as she was confused about how the Doctor knew exactly what ' _Defense plan delta'_ was off the top of his head. And the soldiers followed them, simply taking orders from the Doctor. She wondered how he had that effect on people.

They all burst into the Mortuary. Everything seemed normal, but something in the air made June feel like there was something else going on. The only noise that could be heard was ragged breathing and shuffling.

They turned a corner and there, cowered against a wall, was a clearly shaken woman. She had a large cut on her head and a trembling gun in her hands. She seemed at a complete loss for words. June tried her best to sound helpful. "Are you al—"

"It's alive!" the woman cried. June froze. She had to be talking about the body. The mysterious alien.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers. "Spread out," he ordered. "Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown." He rushed over and knelt in front of the woman, taking her hands so she could feel safe. June hovered, not exactly sure what to do. She wasn't good at comforting people or tough enough to handle whatever alien now roamed around the hospital. So, she just stood there and watched.

"My god," the woman muttered. "It's still alive."

The Doctor glared at hesitating soldiers. "Do it!" he shouted. And all the soldiers poured out of the room.

"I swear it was dead," the woman muttered. June grabbed a folded cloth from the desk next to her and knelt down next to the Doctor. She carefully moved the cloth closer to the woman, but she barely seemed to notice. She flinched when it touched her wound, which made June flinch as well. She felt a little bit better being at least a bit useful.

And the Doctor rambled on with theories and questions. "Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. What does it look like?"

"You don't have to answer," June told the woman. "We can figure it out ourselves." If she had been attacked by something she thought was dead, she probably wouldn't be too keen to talk about it.

And then suddenly, metal clattered from somewhere in the room. June nearly jumped out of her skin, stifling a shriek in her throat as to not cause any more alarm. The Doctor whipped around and looked in the direction of the noise. "It's still here." He stood up and started to back towards one of the soldiers that remained in the room. June handed the cloth to the woman and tried to give her a comforting smile. She stood up and tried to look around the room from the spot she froze in, but she could see nothing.

The Doctor walked back through the room, softly and carefully, taking June's hand as he passed her and directing a soldier to kneel down next to the woman. They slowly approached the back wall of the room, a table preventing them from seeing most of the floor. And then something metal clattered again. The Doctor dropped to the floor, pulling June along with him. She fell forwards and caught herself on her forearm before she fell on her face. She sent a silent glare to the Doctor, who didn't seem to notice at all.

She crawled slowly after him and they exchanged somewhat nervous looks as they reached the corner of the table. Whatever was in the room was just on the other side. June could feel her heart rapidly beating in her chest as she and the Doctor slowly looked around the corner of the table to see… nothing. June almost let out a sigh of relief but was interrupted by the appearance of a pig. June's face froze in confusion. It was a pig. A normal pig just stuffed in a spacesuit. It oinked softly at them. "What the hell?" she muttered.

The Doctor smiled cheerily at it. "Hello."

It squealed and ran out of the room on its hind legs, waving its arms around in obvious terror. It was just as scared of them as the woman had been scared of it, if not more. The soldier cocked his gun at the sight of it, but the Doctor quickly yelled, "Don't shoot!"

It squealed all the way out of the room and into the hall, leaving the Doctor and June to exchange looks (June's confused, the Doctor's excited) and chase after it. It wasn't difficult to follow the pig considering its panicking could be heard through all the halls.

And they were so close to getting to it too, but then there was a gunshot and June just knew what had happened. She froze in place, but the Doctor stormed on, pushing through a plastic barrier and turning around the corner. June shook her head and followed after him. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see the corpse of a pig.

"What did you do that for?" the Doctor demanded of the soldier who stood with his gun raised. "It was scared!" The soldier seemed utterly perplexed. June hovered in the hallway, just letting her eyes hover over the body the Doctor knelt down next to. She didn't want to get any closer. "It was scared."

 **~*O*~**

They body had been moved back to the mortuary. June could stand a little closer to it, but still stood behind the Doctor, just glancing at it from over his shoulder.

Dr. Sato had recovered from her fear. She now stood solemnly staring down at the body, hugging her clipboard against her chest. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth."

"More like a mermaid," the Doctor said. "Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid."

June said, "Gross," because she couldn't think of much more to say.

The Doctor continued, "Now someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke." It was difficult to think about. She rested her head against his shoulder and stared down at the floor.

"So, it's a fake, pretend, like the mermaid," Dr. Sato said. "But the technology augmenting its brain, it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens."

The Doctor took June's hand and pulled her out of the room before Dr. Sato could finish saying anything else.

 **~*O*~**

The wheezing noise filled the console room. June felt much better to be in the TARDIS. The Doctor still asked, "Are you alright? You seem quiet. Quieter than usual, I mean."

June smirked. "I mean, yeah, I'm fine. I just… don't like death."

He smiled softly. "Me neither."

"So," she leaned against the console, "why _are_ aliens faking aliens?"

The Doctor shrugged and pulled a lever she leaned next to. "I dunno. That's what we have to find out."

"No, really, I thought we were just going to let it be," June scoffed.

He smirked at her and rolled his eyes. "Alright, enough with your sarcasm."

 **~*O*~**

The TARDIS landed and not even a moment later, Rose ran inside. "Looks like you've got some explaining to do," June told the Doctor.

"Just me?" he asked, crossing his arms. "It was your idea."

June shook her head. "You had the idea, too. I only said something about it first."

"Guys," Rose said, interrupting the budding argument.

"Alright, so we lied," the Doctor said, keeping his eyes on the scanner. "We went and had a look. But the whole crash landing's a fake. I thought so. Just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben. Come on, so June thought—"

"We both thought," she corrected.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Alright, _we_ thought let's go and have a look—"

"My mum's here," Rose interrupted.

The TARDIS door closed and Jackie Tyler and Rose's boyfriend, Mickey, walked inside. Jackie looked beyond shocked. Her hands were clasped over her mouth as she gaped around the console room. Mickey couldn't care less about the TARDIS. He glared right at the back of the Doctor's head.

"Oh, that's just what I need," the Doctor sighed.

June laughed. "I fucking called it!" she exclaimed.

"Language," he scolded.

"Bite me, E.T.," she laughed. "I so told you this was going to happen and you didn't believe me. _But guess what_?" she gestured to Jackie, "I was right."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Good job. You were right about one _tiny_ thing one time. It's absolutely worth all of the fanfare. And you," he turned to Rose, "don't you dare make this place domestic."

"What's wrong with domestic?" June asked.

"What _isn't_ wrong with domestic?" the Doctor asked. He sighed and leaned against the console.

"You ruined my life, Doctor," Mickey said. The Doctor spun and gave him a look. "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you."

June whistled. "Oof." She hadn't had to respond to someone being a murder suspect before.

"See what I mean?" the Doctor asked a Rose who seemed intent on looking away from the whole situation. "Domestic!"

"In what world is being a murder suspect domestic?" June asked, crossing her arms.

"This one," the Doctor retorted. June rolled her eyes. He could be so dramatic.

Mickey stepped up to the console. "I bet you don't even remember my name."

"Ricky," the Doctor said. June almost face palmed.

"It's Mickey," he corrected.

"No, it's Ricky," the Doctor argued, turning fully to face him.

"I think I know my own name," Mickey said.

"You think you know your own name?" the Doctor asked. "How stupid are you?" June couldn't help but snicker at that. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and Mickey glared at her.

Jackie turned and raced for the TARDIS doors. "Mum, don't!" Rose called after her. "Don't go anywhere," she told the Doctor "Don't start a fight," she told Mickey… or maybe both of them. She raced out of the TARDIS after her mother.

"Thanks for laughing, June," Mickey grumbled.

June shook her head. "Sorry, Ricky." She froze. Mickey narrowed his eyes at her. The Doctor began to laugh. "I mean, Mickey. I know your name. I'm not as bad as this one." She nudged the Doctor in the side.

"Oi!" he exclaimed.

"Don't be rude then," June scolded.

"Don't tell me not to be rude," he argued. "I can be rude all I like, thank you." He turned back to the scanner. June tried to give a smile to the disgruntled Mickey.

Rose ran back into the TARDIS. "That was a real spaceship?" she asked as she hopped up to join them.

"Yep," the Doctor said.

"So, it's all a pack of lie?" she asked.

"Duh," June said.

"What is it, then? Are they invading?" Rose asked.

Mickey tried to look at the scanner over the three heads that crowded around it. "Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert," he said.

The Doctor glanced back at him. "Good point."

"See, that was called ' _being nice_ '," June said. "You should do it more often."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and chose to ignore her. "So, what're they up to?"

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor was working. What was he doing specifically? June didn't know. He wouldn't explain. So, she, Rose, and Mickey got to sit around and wait until he was done. The Doctor lay on his back in a hole in the console room floor, working on some wires and such under the console. June sat by, watching him because there wasn't anything much better to do.

Mickey wandered up and looked down at the Doctor. "So, what're you doing down there?" he asked.

"Rickey—" the Doctor started, his voice muffled by the sonic screwdriver he held between his teeth.

"Mickey," Mickey interrupted.

The Doctor took the sonic screwdriver out of his mouth. "Ricky," he insisted. June rolled her eyes. "If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not," Mickey said.

"Well, shut it, then," the Doctor said with a smile.

"Why's she here, then?" Mickey asked, gesturing down at June. June raised an eyebrow at him. "If you think us ' _humans_ ' aren't smart enough to understand your great little space pod or whatever, why haven't you told her to get lost?" June gave the Doctor an expectant look. Mickey was coming up with many good points.

"Because, Ricky, while she can't understand or even cares about understanding my fantastic time ship which is better than anything you've got, I actually like June," the Doctor said. "She's nice enough to be around after I tune out all the annoying chit chat."

June smiled a nice fake smile up at Mickey. "And he's tolerable enough to be around right after you tune out his massive fucking ego." She smiled at the Doctor, one of those petty, bitter smiles. He glared at her.

Mickey glanced between the two, clearly confused. "Well, I'm sure you two are very happy together." And then he walked off.

"Massive ego," the Doctor scoffed under his breath.

June turned and laid on her stomach, looking over the edge down at him. "You do have a massive ego. It's sort of a fact. And I'm sure this," she gestured vaguely to his working, "would go a lot faster if two people knew how to work the TARDIS and if you, you know, actually explained what the hell you were doing."

"See?" the Doctor asked, still focused on the console controls. "This is the annoying I was talking about."

June glared down at him. "Call me annoying one more time, I fucking dare you."

"Stop swearing," the Doctor said.

June rolled her eyes. "Sorry for ruining your pure, innocent Dumbo ears."

The Doctor sat up and frowned at her. "Dumbo?"

She snickered. "Yeah."

"You said they suited me," he said.

June smirked at him. "Keep working or we'll never get anywhere." He glared at her, but laid back down and continued to work.

"Are you going to keep watching me?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Why?"

June smiled. "To make sure you don't do anything stupid." He smiled a bit.

And then a quiet moment later, "Got it! Ha ha!" The Doctor got out of the hole, kicked the floor panel back into place, and helped June up. Rose ran to join them at the scanner. "Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship. Here we go." There was a moment. "Hold on." He hit the scanner, attempting to make it work. "Come on." And then a little animation began to play on the screen. A small ball and a line soaring down to Earth. "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on." And then it played a different animation. The spaceship looped around the Earth before crashing. "See? The spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked.

"It was launched from Earth," June said. She looked over at the Doctor. "Right?"

The Doctor smiled at her and nodded. "Yep. It went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

 **~*O*~**

They had gone back to channel surfing. The four of them crowded around the scanner, watching the grainy footage flip from news channel to news channel. The crash landing still had everyone on Earth buzzing, panicking, wondering, waiting for answers.

"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor stood back, crossing his arms. "All the basic packages."

"You get sports channels? Mickey asked.

"Yes, I get the football," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

"Soccer," June coughed.

"Hold on," the Doctor pointed at the screen, "I know that lot." The news was talking about alien specialists, showing video of high ranking soldiers walking down the hall of Downing Street. "UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people."

"How do you know them?" Rose asked, which was exactly what June was wondering too.

Mickey wandered away from the scanner. "'Cos he's worked for them."

June looked back at the Doctor. He didn't even take notice of what Mickey was saying. "You had a job?" June asked, a small smile on her lips.

"That's what you're focusing on?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor," Mickey continued. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at him, clearly not impressed or amused by anything he did. "I read up on you. You look deep enough on the internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead." June frowned. Death and destruction did follow the Doctor, but she never associated him with either. The fact that other people did didn't feel right to her.

"That's nice. Good boy, Ricky," the Doctor said, clearly tired of hearing Mickey speak.

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?" Rose asked.

"They wouldn't recognize me," he said. He walked around to pull some console controls. "I've changed a lot since the old days."

"You mean the face thing?" June asked, pointing at her own face. It was something starting with an R. Rejuvenation?

The Doctor nodded. "Yep." Rose glanced between the two of them, frowning.

"Besides," the Doctor continued, "the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien—" he pointed to himself, "—out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er," he twisted a knob on the console and a ding rang through the room, the lights dimming, "I'd better keep the TARDIS out of sight. Ricky," he clapped the man on the shoulder and started towards the door, "you've got a car. You can do some driving." June followed close behind the Doctor, bounding forward to catch up with him, and Rose following her.

"Where to?" Mickey asked, following them towards the door.

"The roads are clearing," the Doctor said. "Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." They all stepped out of the TARDIS.

Immediately, a spotlight from above was shone down on them. June froze, her breath catching in her throat. She felt her mind pushed back to that crosswalk. Where she had been abducted. The spotlight had trapped her. She grabbed the Doctor's hand. He wouldn't let anything bad happen, right?

"Do not move!" a faceless voice shouted. "Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads!" Police cars and armored men surrounded them. They were in trouble or something. June didn't care. She focused on the ability to shift her legs and feet, her ability to move. She was alright. She was okay.

Mickey ran as fast as possible and police men chased after him. Jackie Tyler ran out from the apartment building, racing towards her daughter. "Rose!" soldiers grabbed her, keeping her away. "Rose!"

"June," the Doctor said. June didn't look up. She didn't want to see the blinding light surrounding them. She could move. She was fine. "June, what's wrong?" She didn't answer.

"Raise your hands above your head," the voice commanded. "You are under arrest."

They raised their hands up, the Doctor helping the partially frozen June. Her arms seemed to move in synch. But she was fine. The Doctor smiled up at the light. "Take me to your leader." June wanted so badly to laugh.

 **~*O*~**

June sat in the middle seat, between the Doctor and Rose. She felt better now that she wasn't faced with the all too awfully familiar situation. The Doctor had taken her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. He watched her begin to blink more, her shoulders relax, and her breathing calm. Rose was also giving the forest-eyed girl a concerned look. She had never seen her so frozen.

The Doctor tried his best to be careful when he asked, "What's wrong?"

June blinked and turned to him. "That was how they got me," she said. "They trapped be in a spotlight and I was frozen and I couldn't scream or cry or—" just thinking about it made her mind race and body tense.

"It's alright," the Doctor said, pushing her hair out of her face. "You don't have to think about it. You're safe." Rose gave the Doctor a confused look. She had never heard the story. He mouthed, ' _She was abducted._ ' Rose gaped at June.

"Stop," June said.

"Stop what?" the Doctor asked.

June glanced at her two friends. "Looking at me like that. They don't help anything. People have been through worse than I have. Get over it." The Doctor was right, she didn't have to think about it so she wasn't going to. She was safe and she wanted to move on.

So, Rose, taking the hint, quickly changed the topic. "This is a bit posh," she said. "If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago."

"We're not being arrested," the Doctor said, playing along but still holding June's hand tight in his, "we're being escorted."

"Where to?" Rose asked.

"Where'd you think?" the Doctor said. "Downing Street." He laughed, a large grin on his face. June couldn't help but smile. All was well.

"You're kidding," Rose said.

"I'm not," the Doctor insisted. He continued to laugh, such a loud and happy laugh, that June just had to laugh with him. It would be almost a crime not to.

"10 Downing street?" Rose asked.

"That's the one," the Doctor said.

Rose laughed and glanced at the passing scenery out the window. "Oh my god. I'm going to 10 Downing Street? How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right," the Doctor said. "Over the years, I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."

June smiled at him. "How could someone _not_ notice you?"

The Doctor leaned close to her, wearing a smile that was somewhere between a smirk and a grin. "Is that a compliment?"

June scoffed and rolled her eyes, cursing herself for becoming so easily flustered. "No," she said. He looked like he didn't believe her in that teasing way. "Take it any way you like."

"Wait, so, now they need you?" Rose asked.

"Like it said on the news, they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" The Doctor grinned. He was very obviously very proud of himself.

"Patrick Moore?" Rose asked.

The Doctor frowned. "Apart from him."

"The Illuminati?" June asked. He frowned at her too. "You know—" she made a triangle around her eye and started to sing the theme from _The X-Files_.

The Doctor snickered and lowered her hands away from her eyes. "Definitely not. You're smart, I thought you'd know."

"Would this ' _expert_ ' happen to be a certain Time Lord who gets on my and everyone else's nerves constantly?" June asked, raising her eyebrows and smirking at him.

"Maybe," he laughed. "I don't get on everyone's nerves, though."

"Oh, don't you just love this," Rose laughed, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table," the Doctor said, laughing and shaking his head. "Who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should I know?" Rose asked. "I missed a year."

The Doctor looked down at June. June laughed. "American," she said. He rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.

 **~*O*~**

When they stepped out of the car, people were lined up outside of Downing Street, taking pictures of them. The Doctor waved to the crowd of paparazzi like they were interested in him and not just any new action that came out of the case. June kept her head down. She didn't appreciate all the flashing cameras. She didn't want her face _anywhere_ especially because there was an eleven-year-old her eavesdropping on the action in Southern California.

June stepped into Downing Street and only then realized how fancy it was. She should've figured. This was the White House equivalent she supposed. She, the Doctor, and Rose were immediately brought into a room full of people June had never seen before. It was full of well-dressed politicians with suits and pencil skirts and mature looks about them. June felt very out of place.

A young Indian man walked through the room, calling out to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." He stopped in front of the Doctor. "Here's your ID card." He handed him a small white card. "I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."

The Doctor smiled at him. "I don't go anywhere without them."

"You're the code nine, not them," the man insisted. June sighed. They weren't going to get lucky, were they? "I'm sorry, Doctor. It is the Doctor, isn't it? They'll have to stay outside."

The Doctor put an arm around June. "They're staying with me."

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there," the man said. "I can't let them in and that's a fact."

"We're fine," June said. She just wished that the arguing would be over. She and Rose were obviously not getting into that room. "You've got to go. We'll be fine."

Rose nodded. "Yeah, we will be, honestly." The Doctor just frowned at them.

"Excuse me." An older woman had popped up next to the young man. "Are you the Doctor?" The man seemed incredibly annoyed with the woman already.

"Sure," the Doctor said.

The man turned to the woman. "Not now. We're busy."

June tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "We'll be fine out here," she said. "You've got to get in there." She nodded towards the room. "Go save the world."

He frowned, still not seeming so pleased about the whole idea. "Are you sure you two'll be alright out here?" he asked.

"Of course," Rose said.

"Duh," June nodded.

The Doctor sighed. "Alright. Don't get in any trouble."

"We won't as long as you don't," June said. The Doctor patted the top of her head and gave them one last smile before walking in to the meeting.

The young man turned to June and Rose. "I'm going to have to leave you with security," he said, guiding them over to some guards by the wall.

The woman followed after them. "It's alright. I'll look after them." June frowned at her. She wasn't exactly fond of being babysat. "Let me be of some use." June looked over at Rose. Rose shrugged. The woman smiled at them. "Walk with me." She sounded very tense. "Just keep walking." They left the room. "That's right. Don't look round." Rose's head snapped forward. June jumped. This wasn't good. None of this was good. The woman held a badge up to them. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."

 **~*O*~**

They stood in a corner next to a staircase. It was a very rare, very empty space in the crowded building. Harriet Jones shook and stuttered over her words. "This friend of yours," she said, "he's an expert, isn't that right? He knows about aliens?"

"Yeah," June muttered, still trying to scope out the situation.

"Why do you want to know?" Rose asked.

And then Harriet Jones began to cry. June froze and exchanged shocked, wide-eyed looks with Rose. Rose tried her best to comfort the woman. June wanted to awkwardly shrink up.

 **~*O*~**

"They turned the body into a suit," Harriet Jones said. She laid one of the suits on the table. They had moved into the Cabinet Room while Harriet explained her story. "A disguise for the thing inside!" She began to cry again.

June stayed a little way away. Between the crying woman she was too awkward to help and the skin suit laying on the table, June felt too uncomfortable to step any closer. Luckily, Rose was much better at comforting Harriet. "It's alright," she said. "We believe you. It's—it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this." She started to walk around the room, checking under tables and in drawers. "If we could find it, we could use it."

"Why would they keep anything in here?" June asked. "They probably have the technology somewhere else."

"Maybe." Rose opened a large cupboard and a body fell out onto the floor. June gasped and stumbled back towards the wall. Another body? She could barely handle the skin suit. "Oh my god!" Rose gasped as she and Harriet gathered around the body. "Is that the—"

"Harriet, for God's sake." The young Indian man walked into the room. "This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander—" his words died. June swore to herself. This didn't look good. "Oh, my god. That's the Prime Minister!"

"It wasn't us!" June shouted. Nope, that sounded worse.

Rose gaped at June. "Really?

June shrugged. "I panicked?"

"Oh!" a third voice—a woman's—exclaimed in mock surprise. She sauntered into the room like she was in control of everything. "Has someone been naughty?" She closed the door behind her.

The man turned on her. "That's impossible," he said. "He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"

She started towards them. "And who told you that?" Silence. "Me." She had a sickly-sweet smile.

And then the alien inside decided to come out. It zipped its head open, releasing a blue flashing light from within. June winced and stood next to Rose so she could keep the girl close to her. The alien struggled to pull the suit off, working slowly but steady. The alien inside was misshapen and giant. The sight of it made June feel sick. It was impossible tall, hulking green, with a sick baby face. "We are the Slitheen."

The Siltheen grabbed the young man and pushed him up against the wall, choking him with its talons. He struggled and fought against it, but he couldn't do much. June pulled her baseball bat out of her backpack. She had to stop it. She didn't know if she could, but she at least had to try.

* * *

 **That's it for this week! Next chapter, we start on World War Three.**

 **I thought that there were some really cute moments in this chapter, what did you guys think of it?**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	16. World War Three (Part 1)

**Hi everyone!**

 **So, I know it's been a long time since I've last updated, but I've been super busy. I've got classes and work. Not only that, but I hate the Slitheen so much it deters me from writing these chapters. I think I should finish World War 3 next chapter or the chapter after, though.**

 **Anyway, I'm not going to keep you any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

 **World War 3 part 1**

June ran at the Slitheen, Rose shouting after her. She raised her baseball bat brought it down hard on the large green monster's arm. "Let him go!" she shouted. Her arms quickly began to feel sore as she refused to stop hitting it until it let the young man go.

The Slitheen looked down at her and without a word, lowered its arm, the young man still tightly grasped and going limp between its talons, and elbowed June right in the forehead. She fell right over and smacked the back of her head against the carpeted floor. Rose screamed at her and attempted to move to help her friend stand, but Harriet Jones had a tight grip on her arm.

June sat up, and the world spun around her. She was going to have one hell of a headache. She grabbed her baseball bat again, but the second she looked up, she realized she didn't have to go after the monster anymore. The young man fell to the floor, unconscious… or worse… as the Slitheen glitched and jolted, bright electricity jumping through its body. It screamed a high pitched, crackling scream. June stared up at it, completely dazed, wondering what on Earth had happened to it.

Rose quickly grabbed June's arm and heaved her off of the floor. She dragged June and Harriet out of the cabinet room before the monster could get over whatever was happening to it. June kept glancing over her shoulder at the flashing blue light that pulsed in the cabinet room. She repeatedly swore to herself and did her best to keep up with Rose and Harriet.

They sprinted through the hall and the second they turned a corner, Harriet stopped them in their tracks. "No, wait. They're still in there!" she exclaimed. "The emergency protocols! We need them!" June sighed, but knew she was right. It was better that they had them than the Slitheen.

They ran back around the corner to the Cabinet room, but the Slitheen, now fully recovered, charged at them. June's loud swearing was drowned out by Harriet's screaming. They turned and ran down wood paneled corridors, slamming large doors shut behind them. The Slitheen managed to break through them all with no effort at all.

They ran around a corner, past an elevator, and slammed right into a closed door. Rose struggled with the handle and June pounded her fists against the wood, trying to get it open somehow. The Slitheen chased right after them. And then the elevator dinged and it suddenly didn't care about them anymore.

June turned around at the sound. In the elevator stood the Doctor. June gaped at him. Harriet gaped at him. The Slitheen gaped at him. Rose didn't even notice. The Doctor grinned widely. "Hello."

"Where the hell have you been?" June shouted at him.

"I'll tell you later," he said.

Even though Rose grabbed her arm and pulled her along through another corridor, June watched the elevator doors close until they were out of sight. The Slitheen didn't notice them disappear.

They ducked into an empty sitting room, Rose slamming the door behind them. She tried the other door in the room, but it was locked. "Hide!" she shouted. Everyone ran to the nearest hiding place.

June scanned the room and quickly decided on flattening herself and hiding under a couch. The area underneath was narrow and dark, claustrophobic. However, the Slitheen wouldn't be able to look down and see her. It couldn't fold itself in half to purposely look under the couch and it was too big to sit on it. A lot of other stupid things could happen to her, but she figured it was the best spot.

And all was quiet… for a minute. Then, the door creaked open. June made herself stop breathing. She could hear the Slitheen's muddled laugh. "Oh, such fun," it giggled. "Little human children—" June's heart stopped as its large green feet appeared in front of the couch she hid under. She closed her eyes tight and cowered against the back of the cabinet, as far away as possible. She could hear Rose's ragged breathing from the other side. "—where are you?" the Slitheen taunted. "Sweet little humeykins, come to me." Rose's breathing was gone, but there was no screaming or maniacal laughter. She had to have moved. June felt more on edge without the familiar breathing so close. "Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips."

The Slitheen pattered around for a few more moments before turning and saying, "My brothers," with an obvious sickly-sweet smile. June's heart plummeted. There were more?

"Happy hunting?" a deeper, yet similarly gargling, voice asked.

"It's wonderful," the female Slitheen sighed. "The more you prolong it, the more they stink."

"Sweat and fear," a third voice said.

"I smell an old girl," the second Slitheen said. "Stale bird and brittle bones."

"And two ripe youngsters," the female Slitheen added, "all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before they snap." And then Rose screamed.

June immediately rolled out from under her hiding space, pulling her baseball bat with her. She stood and pointed it at the female Slitheen, pretending not to notice, yet keeping aware, of the other two. "Don't you touch her!"

At the same time, Harriet Jones ran out from her hiding spot and shouted, "No! Take me first! Take me!"

The Slitheen all turned and surrounded June and Harriet, ignoring was technically what June had wanted, but she still hated the outcome. Now, all she had to do was distract the Slitheen from Harriet, who didn't deserve to be caught up in the mess, and somehow save the day. Simple enough.

But then the Doctor burst into the room, armed with a fire extinguisher. June grinned and let out a shaky sigh of relief. He sprayed the two brothers with CO2 and shouted, "Out, with me!"

They all ran towards him, Rose pulling a curtain down on the female Slitheen's head in the process. June dodged the Slitheen and the furniture and stood by him, happy to be by his side again. She found it was much easier to not be separated from him.

The Doctor frowned at Harriet Jones when she appeared at his side. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Ooo," June hummed as she slid her baseball bat into her backpack. "He swears."

"Harriet Jones," Harriet Jones said, "MP for Flydale North."

"Nice to meet you," the Doctor said.

"Likewise," Harriet agreed.

"And June," the Doctor said. June looked up at him. "It'd like to stay here so you could be impressed with me, but we don't have all day to waste." June rolled her eyes.

The Doctor emptied the fire extinguisher battling back the Slitheen, threw it aside, and they all sprinted out of the room.

 **~*O*~**

They ran down yet another corridor. "We need to head to the Cabinet Room!" the Doctor shouted.

"The Emergency Protocols are in there!" Harriet agreed. "They give instructions for aliens!"

"Harriet Jones, I like you!" the Doctor said.

"And I like you too!"

"We're still being chased by giant monster aliens!" June reminded them.

"Hurry up, then!" the Doctor called back, taking her hand in his and pulling her along faster down the corridor.

 **~*O*~**

They ran into the Cabinet Room. The Doctor flung open a second entrance and was greeted with the three Slitheen charging towards them. He grabbed a decanter from a side table and held it up for the Slitheen to see, pointing the sonic screwdriver at it. June stood by him, watching the encounter over his shoulder. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off." June tried her best to look tough and glare at the Slitheen, although something told her that the Doctor's threat was complete bull. But the Slitheen didn't notice anything wrong because they backed up. "Right then," the Doctor said. "Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet said.

"Yes, I got that, thanks," the Doctor smiled.

"Who are you, if not human?" one of the Slitheen asked.

"Who's not human?" Harriet asked.

"Him," June pointed at the Doctor.

"He's not human," Rose chorused.

"He's not human?" Harriet asked.

The Doctor glanced at the three of them over his shoulder. "Can I have a bit of hush?"

"Sorry," Harriet said.

"Not sorry," June countered.

"So, what's the plan?" the Doctor asked the Slitheen.

"But he's got a Northern accent," Harriet said.

"So?" June asked.

"Lots of planets have a north," Rose told her.

"I said hush," the Doctor repeated. June rolled her eyes. "Come on." He held the bottle of alcohol higher, reminding the Slitheen of his threat. "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"

"Why would we invade this God-forsaken rock?" one of the Slitheen asked. June frowned. She felt a little offended. If they thought Earth was such a God-forsaken rock then they could just screw off.

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here," the Doctor said. "What is it?"

"The Slitheen race?" the same one asked.

"Slitheen is not our species," the other Slitheen said. "Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."

The Doctor smiled bitterly. "So, you're family."

"A family business," the Slitheen confirmed.

"Then you're out to make a profit." The Doctor smiled, clearly happy to have solved one more piece of the puzzle. "How can you do that on a God-forsaken rock?"

"Not a God-forsaken rock," June muttered.

There was a moment of hesitation. "Ah, excuse me. Your device will do _what_?' the other male Slitheen asked. "Triplicate the flammability?"

"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked. June shook her head. It hadn't been his best lie.

"You're making it up," the Slitheen said.

"Ah, well. Nice try," the Doctor sighed. He held the drink back to Harriet. "Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it."

"You pass it to the left first," Harriet said.

"Sorry." He held it back to June and Rose.

June took the drink from his hand. "Don't mind if I do," she muttered. She quickly took a swig of the alcohol.

"Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter," the Slitheen grinned. They started to click their talons together.

June, meanwhile, cringed as the alcohol ran down her throat. She coughed and spluttered. She passed the drink over to Rose, coughing out, "Nope. Too strong." The Doctor gave her a concerned look. She held up a thumbs-up.

"Don't you think we should run?" Rose asked upon noticing the Doctor's hesitation to move.

"Fascinating history, Downing Street," he said, both ignoring and answering her question. "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man."

June took the moment the Doctor used to sigh to ask, "Is this really the time for a history lesson?"

"Yes, it is," he said. "Now, 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." He flipped open a panel on the wall, pressed a few buttons, and large metal walls sealed shut over the windows and doors. The Doctor grinned at the three women. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?" Rose asked.

The Doctor froze for a moment. "Ah." June face palmed.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor dragged the body of the young Indian man across the room, laying him down in the closet next to the body of the Prime Minster. June watched from across the room, silent. She knew not being able to save him wasn't her fault, not fully, but it still felt completely horrible to let things get so messed up to the point where she couldn't save him. Between her attack with the baseball bat having absolutely no effect and the electrocution of the Slitheen via the Doctor, there was no way that she could've saved him.

"What was his name?" the Doctor asked.

"Who?" Harriet asked as she looked through the Emergency Protocols.

"This one," the Doctor said. "The secretary or whatever he was called."

Harriet walked over and looked into the closet. "I don't know," she admitted. "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee." She wandered away, shaking her head. "I never asked his name."

The Doctor walked across the room, sonic screwdriver in hand, passing Rose who was still looking around for any technology. "Right, what have we got?" he asked. "Any terminals, anything?" he began to sonic the steel that blocked the window.

"No," Rose sighed. "This place is antique."

"Again," June said, "they wouldn't have any technology in here. They're not exactly dumb. They've managed to take over the government after all. Why would they just leave technology around in a high security room?"

The Doctor glanced at her. "Alright. You've got a point."

"Yeah, I guess that makes a little sense," Rose said. "But, what I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"

"He's too slim," the Doctor said. "They're big old beasts." He walked over to the next window and began to scan it. "They need to fit inside big human beings."

"But Slitheen are about eight feet," Rose said. "How do they fit inside?"

"That's the device around their necks. Compression fields." He walked across the room to the window June sat beside. He gave her a small smile. "Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field," Rose muttered. "I could fit a size smaller."

June snickered. "Do you think there's one that works in reverse?"

"Excuse me, people are dead," Harriet said. She had the same, stern, disappointed tone that moms usually used on their misbehaving children. June supposed that to Harriet, she and Rose _were_ misbehaving children. "This is not the time for making jokes."

"Sorry," Rose said. "You get used to this stuff when you're friends with him." She pointed at the Doctor.

Harriet frowned and glanced between Rose, June, and the Doctor. "Well, that's a strange friendship."

June snickered. "Honestly, you have _no_ idea."

"Harriet Jones," the Doctor wondered to himself. He stood by the fireplace and furrowed his eyebrows at the woman. "I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?"

Harriet laughed. "Oh, hardly."

"Rings a bell. Harriet Jones?" He looked over at June. "How about you?"

June frowned at him. "Do I need to tattoo ' _American_ ' on my forehead to get you to understand that I don't know shit about England?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, quit the sass. I was just wondering. Because I've heard that name before."

"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid," Harriet sighed. The Doctor frowned down at her as he walked by to scan something else. "And a fat lot of use I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs."

"Hasn't it got, like defense codes and things?" Rose asked, glancing inside of the briefcase. "Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" June paused. _Something had exploded_.

Harriet frowned at Rose. "You're a very violent young woman."

The seriousness in Harriet's voice made June laugh. Rose frowned. "I'm serious. We could." She glanced back at June. "And you stop laughing. You're the one who just loves to go after things your baseball bat."

"It's called self-defense," June said.

"Well, there's nothing like that in here," Harriet said. "The defense codes, I mean. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."

The Doctor frowned and joined the group around the Protocols. "Say that again," he said.

"What, about the codes?" Harriet asked.

"Anything," the Doctor said. "All of it."

"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN," Harriet explained.

Rose scoffed. "Like that's ever stopped them."

"Exactly, given our past record," Harriet nodded. "And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"

"Everything's important," the Doctor said.

"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted," Harriet sighed. "Listen to me. I'm saying Slitheen as if it's normal."

"I feel that every day, Harriet," June muttered.

"What do they want, though?" Rose asked.

"Money," June said. "Isn't that what they said. It's a family business. Business equals money."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Someone's been paying attention." June shrugged. "She's right." He wandered around the room. "They're just one family, so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World. They're out to make money. That means they want to use something. Something here on Earth. Some kind of asset."

"Like what, gold?" Harriet asked. "Oil? Water?"

The Doctor smiled. "You're very good at this."

Harriet smiled, too. "Thank you."

"Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?" the Doctor asked.

"We can eliminate technology, though, right?" June asked. "Between the fake crash landing and the fact that this is 2006, we can assume that they don't need any."

The Doctor nodded. "There are better places in the universe to get technology."

There was a beep and Rose quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Oh, that's me."

"But we're sealed off," Harriet said. "How did you get a signal?"

"He zapped it," Rose explained. She walked around the table glancing down at her old, early 2000s cellphone. "Super phone. You should see June's."

"You have one too?" Harriet asked.

June pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up. "Yeah."

Harriet gaped at it. "That's not a phone," she said. "What is that?"

"Oh, yeah," June muttered. "Right. It is a phone. I'm just from the future."

Harriet blinked at her. "He's not human," she nodded at the Doctor, "and now you're from the future?"

June nodded. "Yep."

Harriet turned away, deciding that there wasn't much time to dwell on the oddities. "Then we can phone for help," she said. "You must have contacts."

"Dead downstairs, yeah," the Doctor nodded.

June sighed. "That can't be it, right?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You have to know more people." He shrugged, not exactly sure what to tell her.

"It's Mickey," Rose said, still looking down at her phone.

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy," the Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Be nice," June scolded lightly. He frowned at her.

"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all." She handed the Doctor her phone. June walked over and glanced over the Doctor's shoulder at the ridiculously tiny phone screen. On it was a picture of a Slitheen in the midst of that electrocution midst. They had gone after Mickey too.

Rose quickly got on the phone, walking away so she could talk to Mickey. It was easy to piece together the situation. Mickey had saved Jackie from one of the Slitheen and now they were hiding in Mickey's apartment. June stood next to the Doctor, watching Rose talk quietly. "So, they're after us then," she guessed.

"Maybe," the Doctor shrugged.

"Why, though?" June asked. "I get trying to go after you, me, Rose, and Harriet. We've been sticking our noses into their business, but Mickey and Jackie…"

"They don't want any witnesses," the Doctor said.

"But they didn't witness anything."

"They're close enough to the action."

June crossed her arms. "That's awful." She wondered how many people the Slitheen would plow through without a single thought just to get what they wanted.

"I know," he said. The Doctor then walked over to Rose and yanked her phone out of her hand, pressing it up to his own ear. June gaped after him. He forgot his manners all too often. "Is that Ricky?" he asked. "Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer." There was a moment of silence and then the Doctor sighed. "Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but… er… I need you."

June thought that it was incredible that she could laugh, even while in the thick of danger.

* * *

 **So, I know the chapter was short and not fantastic... but it's still a chapter and the only reason I didn't like the chapter is because I'm not fond of fast paced writing like the action in this chapter. It gives less time for the characters to be personal and develop. But I really do hope you guys like it!**

 **I should be back next week. I've already started writing part 2, so I'll be back whenever it's done.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	17. World War Three (Part 2)

**Hi everyone!**

 **Today, we finish up World War Three! Next week, we move onto Dalek!**

 **I won't keep you any longer**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

 **World War Three** **part 2**

The Doctor connected Rose's cell phone to a speaker in the middle of the long, wooden table. He, June, and Rose leaned close to the speaker as Harriet poured them all drinks. "Say again," the Doctor told Mickey.

"It's asking for the password," Mickey said.

"Buffalo," the Doctor said. "Two Fs, one L."

June frowned. "Why would they use that for the password?"

"I don't know," the Doctor shrugged. "You should ask whoever came up with it."

Jackie Tyler's voice could be heard in the background of the call. "So, what's that website?" she asked.

"All the secrets information known to mankind," Mickey explained in a dramatic fashion that made June snicker. "See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark."

"Mickey, you were born in the dark," the Doctor snapped.

"Stop being mean," June scolded.

At the same time, Rose said, "Oh, leave him alone."

"Thank you," Mickey replied sarcastically. "Password again."

"Just repeat it every time," the Doctor said. "Big Ben," he wondered, walking away from the speaker. "Why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"

Harriet followed, three drinks in hand. She handed one to Rose and another to June. "You said to gather the experts, to kill them," she said.

The Doctor shook his head. "That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon," he said, taking the drink. "You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."

"The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on red alert," Rose said. "What would they do that for?"

"Oh, listen to her," Jackie muttered.

"At least I'm trying," Rose argued.

"All they've managed to do is scare people," June muttered. She and the Doctor looked at each other. And then a thought hit her. She stopped and frowned. "You don't think that they're trying to scare people, do you?" The Doctor just shrugged.

"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind," Jackie interrupted. "Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets, I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughter disappear off the face of the Earth."

Rose sighed and leaned against the table, her head hanging, "I told you what happened."

"I'm talking to him," Jackie snapped. "'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart—" the room was eerily silent. Everyone was just listening to Jackie's words. And the Doctor stared down at the floor, his eyes dark and focused. "—but you tell me. Just answer me this," Jackie said. "Is my daughter safe?"

Rose laughed. "I'm fine."

"Is she safe?" Jackie asked. The Doctor was just quiet, just standing and listening. "Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?" A beat. "And what about June?" June froze at the sound of her name. "She's someone's daughter, too. And I bet her parents don't know a thing." June squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't realize she would be hit with guilt. "Will they be safe?" Everyone looked at the Doctor. He finally looked away from the floor. June met his eyes. The gaze held for a long time. June wasn't sure what he was trying to say, if he was trying to say anything at all. "Well, what's the answer?" Jackie asked.

There was a rustle from the speaker and then Mickey spoke. "We're in."

The Doctor finally broke eye contact with her and darted around the table to lean closer to the speaker. June stood on the opposite side with Rose, watching him carefully. June knew that the travelling wasn't safe. She had the burn scars to prove it. But it didn't mean that it was bad. People sure did have a way of making it feel bad, though.

"Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that," the Doctor instructed.

An odd waving noise came through the speaker. June cringed at the sound, frowning down at the speaker. "What is it?" Mickey asked.

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal," the Doctor said. "Now hush, let me work out what it's saying."

"He'll have to answer me one day," Jackie muttered, her voice now far away.

"Hush," Mickey whispered.

"It's some sort of message," the Doctor noted.

"What's it say?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating."

"You're actually getting something out of that?" June asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I am actually," the Doctor said. An out of place buzzing rang through the speaker. "Hush!" the Doctor snapped.

"That's not me," Mickey said. "Go and see who that is."

"It's three o'clock in the morning," Jackie said.

June sighed. "Is it really that late?" She realized how tired she felt. If she could lay down, she would probably fall asleep in a second.

Mickey's voice became quiet. "Well, go and tell them that."

"Its beaming out into space, who's it for?" the Doctor wondered.

"Aliens," June said.

He gave her a look. "Not helping." She shrugged.

Mickey came back to the call. His voice was tense and softly muffled. "They've found us."

June stopped. "What?"

"Mickey, I need that signal," the Doctor said.

"Never mind the signal, get out!" Rose shouted. "Mum, just get out! Get out!"

"We can't," Mickey said. "It's by the front door."

"Go out a window?" June suggested, shrugging at the speaker.

"Sure, we'll just jump off the balcony," Mickey scoffed. June snickered a bit.

Very vaguely in the back of the call, screeching could be heard. "Oh my god," Mickey gasped. "It's unmasking. It's going to kill us."

"So, what do we do?" June asked. She looked at the Doctor for answers. He had to have something.

"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!"

"I'm trying!" the Doctor yelled. He sprung up and walked around the table, staring down into space.

"I'll take it on, Jackie," Mickey said. It sounded like he was trying to keep it together. "You just run. Don't look back. Just run."

June swore to herself and ran a hand through her hair. She glanced between Rose and the Doctor. Mickey couldn't take on the Slitheen. June couldn't take it on. She wasn't sure if anyone would be able to take one on.

"That's my mother," Rose said, eyes trained on the Doctor, telling him to do something already.

"Right," he nodded and walked to the other end of the table, "if we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet." He slammed his palms on the table and leaned over. June leaned on the table next to him, waiting to see what he would come up with. "So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within traveling distance. What else do we know about them. Information!" he demanded.

"They're green," Rose said.

"Yep, narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"The compression necklace technology," June said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"Good sense of smell," Rose said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"They're businessmen," June said. "Uh. Business-aliens."

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"They can smell adrenalin," Rose said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"The pig technology," Harriet said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"They're annoying as hell," June said.

"Surprisingly narrows it down," the Doctor said.

June raised her eyebrows. "Oh."

"The spaceship in the Thames, you said slipstream engine?" Rose said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"It's getting in!" Mickey shouted. They could all hear the door breaking and cracking from the speaker.

"They hunt like it's a ritual!" Rose said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"The human suit technology," June said.

"Narrows it down," the Doctor said.

"Wait a minute," Harriet said. "Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, er…"

"Bad breath!" Rose shouted.

"That's it!" Harriet agreed.

June winced and shook her head. "That's gross."

"Calcium decay!" the Doctor shouted. "Now, that narrows it down!" And he got up and walked around the table again, leaving June to walk after him for a second time.

"We're getting there, mum!" Rose shouted.

"Too late!" Mickey yelled.

"Calcium phosphate," the Doctor muttered. "Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium. What else? What else?" He stopped. "Hyphenated surname. Yes!" he shouted. "That narrows it down to one planet! Raxacoricofallapatorius!"

June gaped at the bundle of letters he just spat out. "What?"

"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter," Mickey scoffed.

The Doctor rounded the table and leaned towards the speaker. "Get into the kitchen!"

There was squealing, crashing, and stumbling. Loud thuds, bangs, and Jackie's high-pitched screaming.

"Calcium, weakened by the compression field," the Doctor thought out loud. "Acetic acid. Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet exclaimed.

"Just like Hannibal," the Doctor agreed. June frowned and looked over at Rose. Hannibal? Was she missing something? "Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

"How should I know?" Mickey asked.

"What do you mean _'How should you know'_?" June asked.

"It's your kitchen," the Doctor said.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf."

Jackie's voice quickly took over. "What do you need?"

"Anything with vinegar!" the Doctor yelled.

Chaos was erupting on the opposite side of the call. "Gherkins. Yeah, pickled onions. Pickled eggs," Jackie listed.

The Doctor frowned at Rose. "And you kiss this man?"

There was a loud crash. June could see Rose physically stiffen. The Slitheen on the other side squealed and roared. And then there was nothing. Everyone around the table exchanged silent, wide-eyed looks. And then there was a pop, a gasp from Jackie, and splattering. And everyone let out a sigh of relief. The stress rolled off their shoulders. June could've sunk to the floor.

"Hannibal?" Rose asked.

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar," Harriet explained through ragged breaths.

"I thought he was a cannibal," June said.

"That's Hannibal Lecter," the Doctor said.

"Oh," June nodded.

"Well," Rose sighed, "there you go then."

They all raised their glasses. June stumbled to grab hers and raised it with the others. They all exchanged smiles and took a drink. The Doctor immediately recoiled and spat out his drink. June laughed so much she almost choked on the burning alcohol.

 **~*O*~**

Jackie wouldn't stop rambling and fussing over Rose. June couldn't exactly blame her. She _had_ just nearly been killed and her only daughter was in danger. Rose kept trying to calm her down. The Doctor stood on the opposite side of the table from the two girls, looking tired, annoyed, and deep in thought.

"Hey," Jackie suddenly complained.

Mickey took over the call. "Listen to this," he said.

Everyone gathered around the speaker. June just pushed her chair over close enough to listen. The voice that came over the call now didn't belong to Mickey or Jackie, yet it was still somehow familiar. "Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads—" June sat up straighter in her chair. It was one of the Slitheen. One of them in the human suits. "—and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds." June froze. _Something had blown up_.

The Doctor gaped at the speaker. "What?"

"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long," the disguised Slitheen said. "We are facing extinction… unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mothership. I beg of the United nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival. Because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."

"He's making it up," the Doctor spat. June watched him walk away. "There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it."

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.

Rose scoffed. "They did last time."

"That's why the Slitheen went for the spectacle." The Doctor marched across the room towards the door.

June bounded after him. "They're trying to scare everyone, right?"

"Obviously," the Doctor scoffed. "They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out."

"They release the defense codes," Rose said.

They stopped in the doorway. "And the Slitheen go nuclear," the Doctor said.

"But why?" Harriet asked.

The Doctor flipped the switch and the steel disappeared. Three Slitheen stood outside the door. They were identical to the ones that had chased them earlier, but were obviously different, probably set outside to guard the door. "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there," the Doctor said. "You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."

The female Slitheen, now disguised with a sickly-sweet smile and malicious eyes, walked forwards."And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away." It felt like she was just poking them with a stick, wearing a wide, teasing smile. She made June feel sick.

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place," Harriet said. "What for?"

"Profit," the Doctor answered, not breaking eye contact with the Slitheen. "That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert." June frowned up at him. She wondered when he had figured it all out.

"The sale of the century," the Slitheen said. "We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chunks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of five billion lives," the Doctor said.

"Bargain," the Slitheen grinned.

"I'll give you a choice," the Doctor said. "Leave this planet or I'll stop you."

All of the Slitheen laughed. "What, you?" the disguised Slitheen asked through chortles. She quickly turned sinister. "Trapped in your box?"

"Yes," the Doctor said. "Me."

And as the metal doors closed again, June called through the door, "Good luck—" the metal door slammed shut, "—bitch."

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor had taken June's laptop. June sort of regretted bringing it. He had zapped it, just like he had zapped her phone. They spent hours and hours watching the news go by. The battery never dropped. June hated the news. It stressed her out

"Yesterday saw the start of a brave new world. Today might see it end. The streets are deserted. Everyone's home, just waiting, as the future is decided in New York."

"It's midnight here in New York. The United Nations has gathered. England has provided them with absolute proof that the massive weapons of destruction do exist. The Security Council will be making a resolution in a matter of minutes, and once the codes are released, humanity's first interplanetary war begins."

Eventually, Jackie took over the phone call again. "Alright, Doctor," she said. "I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do." The Doctor leaned against a window, looking down, just thinking. He didn't reply.

"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet suggested.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked.

Mickey had been researching. "There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail."

"Voicemail dooms us all," Harriet sighed.

Rose sighed and wandered to the door, staring at it as if they had already been defeated. "If we could just get out of here."

The Doctor looked up. "There's a way out."

June stood up from her seat and gawked at him. "What?"

He looked over at her. "There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked.

The Doctor walked over and leaned towards the speaker. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter nor June will be safe." June stopped. It always came down to her being in life threatening danger.

"Don't you dare," Jackie shot. "Whatever it is, don't you dare."

"That's the thing," the Doctor said. "If I don't dare, everyone dies."

Rose walked over and stood next to June. They both looked across at the Doctor. "Do it," Rose said.

"You have to," June agreed. "We don't have much of a choice now." As much as she didn't like it, putting herself in danger seemed a small price for everyone else's lives.

He stared at them, as if he was just trying to analyze their faces. "You two don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"

"Yeah," Rose said.

"Duh," June nodded.

"Please," Jackie begged. Her voice shook over the speaker. "Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. June's someone's daughter. They're just kids." June felt herself flush at the sound of her name. It felt odd to hear someone fighting on her behalf. Jackie only had to argue for her daughter, not June as well. She'd have to thank her if she ever saw her again.

"Do you think I don't know that?" the Doctor asked. "Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

"Then let's do it already," June said. "If this is the solution, we have to do it." She put her palms against the wooden table and leaned over towards him. "We don't have a choice so what are you waiting for?"

He was quiet for a moment. They stared at each other. June raised her eyebrows, waiting for something, anything. And then the Doctor said, "I could save the world but lose you."

June stopped. She leaned back and shoved her hands in her pockets. That couldn't be such a huge dilemma for him, could it? She was the reason he hesitated. _Her._ She stopped herself. Of course, it wasn't her. It wasn't just her. There were other people in the room. He was probably just as worried for Rose too. He didn't want to lose the two friends he had. June was sure that the Doctor would survive whatever was about to happen, even if she and Rose didn't.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor," Harriet said. "It's mine."

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie demanded.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people," Harriet said. She stood still and strong like she was the one in charge. A natural born leader. "And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it."

And with that command, everyone sprang into action. "How do we get out?" Rose asked.

The Doctor grabbed the red briefcase. "We don't," he said, snapping the box open. "We stay here." June frowned at him. She didn't like where it seemed like everything was going. But if it saved the Earth….

"The Council is voting," the woman on the news, which still played from June's laptop, announced. "The results should be known any second now."

The Doctor flipped through some of the papers in the case and then turned to the speaker. "Use the buffalo password," he ordered. "It overrides everything."

"What're you doing?" Jackie asked Mickey, her voice quiet.

"Hacking into the Royal Navy," Mickey explained. "We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right," the Doctor said, "we need to select a missile."

June's stomach turned to knots. Something important had exploded and now they were in the middle of Downing Street, selecting a missile. She couldn't die in the explosion her parents had seen the wreckage of on TV, could she?

"We can't go nuclear," Mickey said. "We don't have the defense codes."

"We don't need it," the Doctor told him. "All we need's an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"

"Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A," Mickey said.

June wasn't sure what all the gibberish meant. She sort of wanted to sit down, but she stopped herself. If she was going to die than she was going to be standing in her last moments of action (more watching than action, but still).

"That's the one," the Doctor said. "Select."

There was silence from the other side. When Mickey spoke next, his voice was quieter and muffled, like his hand was over the speaker. "Do it, then."

"You ready for this?" the Doctor asked.

Mickey was quiet for a moment longer, but returned sounding normal as ever. "Yeah."

The Doctor stood up. "Mickey the idiot," he said, "the world is in your hands."

June tried to laugh. She knew that this had to be a huge weight on Mickey's shoulders as well as the Doctor's. "Ever thought you would say that?" she asked with a forced smirk. The Doctor gave her a small smile, but didn't say anything,

The Doctor took a deep breath, looked down at the speaker, and gave the order. "Fire."

There was silence. June took a deep breath. "Downing Street blew up." Everyone looked at her. "That's the explosion I remember. It was Downing Street." No one said anything.

And then Harriet rushed to a window. "How solid are these?"

"Not solid enough," the Doctor said. "Built for short range attack, nothing this big."

"Then what's the point?" June asked. She could feel herself begin to panic. Was this where she died? Why was she always on the verge of death? Was this it? She survived all the other times but an explosion?

"Alright, now I'm making the decision," Rose said. "I'm not going to die. "We're going to ride this out. June." June looked over at her. "What do they say to do during earthquakes?"

"This isn't an earthquake," June reminded her, "this is a _missile._ "

"Close enough," Rose argued. "What do you do?"

"Get under a sturdy piece of furniture, a table usually, and just hold on till it's over," June said.

"Right," Rose nodded. "Well, let's get under the table then."

"That's not a good idea in this case," June argued. Rose frowned at her. "This room has too many windows and doors. Not to mention the giant light fixture that can fall on us. And the fact that this still isn't an earthquake, but a giant explosion."

Rose sighed. "What do we do, then?"

June scanned the room. "Um, closet. Let's—" she took a deep breath, "—go into the closet." With the dead bodies. She swallowed thickly.

"Alright. Cupboard it is then," Rose nodded. "Come on and help me." June and Harriet joined Rose (June rather hesitantly) and then went and began to empty the cupboard.

"The vote is in," the woman on the news announced. "The Council says yes. They are releasing the codes." June swore, ran over, closed her computer, and shoved it back into her backpack.

"It's on radar," Mickey announced. The Slitheen were ready to attack. "Counter defense five five six."

"Stop them intercepting it," the Doctor ordered.

"I'm doing it now," Mickey said.

"Good boy," the Doctor complimented. June almost snickered, but was interrupted by being handed a large, heavy box. She tossed it across the room without a care.

"Five five six neutralized," Mickey said.

The Doctor unplugged the phone from the speaker and Mickey and Jackie's muttering voices were gone.

 **~*O*~**

They all gathered in the cupboard. The young Indian man and the Prime Minister's bodies had been moved from the cupboard. There was no saving them. It still made June feel sick.

She sat in the very corner of the room, stuck between the Doctor and Rose. She felt much safer sitting in between her two friends. Harriet sat on the other side of the Doctor. She nervously smiled at the three of them. "Here we go. Nice knowing you all."

The Doctor held out his hands. June took the one on her side. She squeezed his hand and tried to give him a small smile. She took Rose's hand as well. Rose's grip was tight and scared.

Harriet grinned at them. "Hannibal!"

The few seconds before it hit was the worst. Waiting. Just waiting for the inevitable doom, the inevitable explosion. The seconds felt like hours. June could feel hot tears building in her eyes. She thought about her parents and her sister and her friends. If she was going to die, she was going to go out thinking about the people she loved.

And then it hit. The whole room shook at first but then everything turned upside down. It was like the room was a ball being thrown down a staircase. June was sure she was screaming but she couldn't be sure about it. She couldn't think about much. Her body was being thrown around like a ragdoll. She crashed against the wall and the floor and into the bodies of her friends. The whole world spun and twisted and June wasn't sure if she felt sick or if her head hurt. She couldn't actually tell if she was feeling anything at all. The moment it started, it ended as well.

 **~*O*~  
** The fact that June could still step out into the daylight was quite a feat. Everyone had managed to stay in one piece. They stood in the doorway of the metal room, looking out at piles of smoking wreckage. June could barely stand; her legs were shaking and she felt like they would give out and let her drop. The Doctor put a supportive arm around her so she wouldn't fall. June looked up at him and smiled. "We made it," she said, laughter cracking in her voice.

The Doctor smiled back at her. "We did."

"Made in Britain," Harriet grinned.

They stepped out, balancing on the rubble around them. A soldier ran down towards them. "Oh my god. Are you alright?" he asked.

Harriet turned to him and held up her ID card. "Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact the UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news." June smiled. She really would make a great leader.

The soldier nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He ran off.

Harriet turned to the Doctor, June, and Rose. "Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."

"Maybe you should have a go," the Doctor suggested.

"Me?" Harriet asked. "I'm only a back-bencher."

June smiled at her. "You should." She was sure that she would. The job seemed to fit her. She handled the situation better than anyone else.

"I'd vote for you," Rose said.

"Now, don't be silly," Harriet said. "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" she called. She walked over the pile of rubble towards the street. June, the Doctor, and Rose followed after her.

 **~*O*~**

Harriet ran out on the street full of ambulances and soldiers in bright colored vests. "We're safe!" she shouted. "The Earth is safe! Sergeant!"

The Doctor looked back at the two girls. "I thought I knew the name," he said. They walked out onto the street. They watched Harriet Jones walk towards the police, her arms up in the air. "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successful terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."

"The crisis has passed!"

 **~*O*~**

June with her feet up on the rim of the console, sat in the tattered jump seat, phone in hand. She watched the Doctor from the opposite side of the room. He was staring at the scanner again. He had been scared to lose her. June didn't know why she was thinking about his comment again. He had lost a lot of people, of course he wouldn't want to lose anyone else. But it was still an odd thing to think about.

"Stop staring at me."

June jumped at his voice. "Wha—?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her. "You were staring."

June slumped down in her seat. "I was lost in thought."

He frowned at her. "Alright." He sounded like he didn't believe her. He picked up a phone from somewhere hidden in the console and dialed.

June furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" the Doctor asked. "I'm calling Rose. Now, hush." June rolled her eyes. He was silent for a moment. "Right, we'll be a couple of hours, then we can go."

"A couple of hours?" June asked. She didn't know what was next, but how long could it possibly take to clean everything up?

The Doctor raised a finger to her lips, shushing her again, and then returned to the call. "Like I said, a couple of hours. I've just got to send out this dispersal. There you go." An odd waving noise filled the console room. June winced. "That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."

And then the Doctor grinned. "Good," he said. "Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."

June gaped at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The Doctor was silent. He walked around the console. June sat up properly as he approached. He rested an arm on her shoulder as he listened to Rose on the other side of the call. He shook his head. "I don't do that. And I'm taking June with me." June frowned up at him. He tilted the phone away and mouthed, "Jackie's cooking tea." He turned back to the call. "Tough. I've got better things to do." He wandered away and pressed a button on the console. June slumped back in her seat. "Not to me it isn't." Silence again. He walked around the console. "Well, she's not mine." June frowned. They were going to get into an argument over the phone, weren't they? "Well, you can stay there if you want." There was a pause. "But right now, there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula."

"Horsehead Nebula?" June asked.

"Fires are burning then million miles wide," he continued. He looked over at June, smirking. He knew how incredible it sounded. He knew that she was interested. "I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out." He talked with his hands. It made June snicker. "Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice." He looked over at June. "And June's, of course." June couldn't help but smile.

 **~*O*~**

A few hours had passed. The Doctor had managed to track down a kid who had graffitied the TARDIS earlier in the day. June didn't know how he had done it, but now the kid sat with a bucket and a brush, scrubbing the tag off of the side of the blue box.

June stood in the doorway with the Doctor. Mickey sat on top of a trash can just across the street, reading a newspaper. They had exchanged nods before turning their attention to other things. June watched the Doctor lean out of the doorway and look down at the kid. "Good lad. Graffiti that again and I'll have you. Now, beat it." The kid picked up his bucket and brush and sprinted away like his life depended on it.

"Think you scared him too much?" June asked.

The Doctor shook his head. He was grinning. "Nah." June rolled her eyes. He left the TARDIS, leaving June standing in the doorway, and walked over to Mickey. June could just barely hear their conversation.

"I just went down the shop, and I was thinking, you know, like the whole world's changed," Mickey said. "Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is." He unfolded the newspaper. The headline read, ' _Alien Hoax_.' June snickered. She closed the TARDIS door and walked over to join the conversation. "How could they do that?" Mickey asked. "They saw it."

"They're still denying it in my day," June said.

"What?" Mickey asked.

June nodded. "There's been more than just this. I probably shouldn't say considering I'd expect this one—" she looked up at the Doctor, "—to be in the middle of all of it. But they still deny." She shrugged at Mickey's shocked look.

"They're just not ready," the Doctor said. "You're happy to believe in something that's invisible, but if it's staring you in the face, nope, can't see it. There's a scientific explanation for that. You're thick."

"Rude," June snickered.

Mickey laughed. "We're just idiots."

"Well, not all of you," the Doctor said.

Mickey immediately sat up straighter. "Yeah?"

June smiled up at the Doctor. "Look at you. Being nice."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a smile. "Present for you, Mickey." He dug a CD out of his jacket pocket and handed it to him. "That's a virus. Put it online. It'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist."

"What do you want to do that for?" Mickey asked.

"Because you're right," the Doctor said, "I am dangerous." June frowned. "I don't want anybody following me."

June noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Jackie and Rose walked out of the block. "How can you say that and then take her with you?" Mickey asked. "And take June with you?"

"You could look after Rose," the Doctor told him. "Come with us." June could barely believe what he had just said.  
Mickey looked down and shook his head. "I can't. This life of yours, it's just too much. I couldn't do it." He glanced at the two women walking towards them. "Don't tell her I said that."

The Doctor wandered back to the TARDIS, taking June's hand and pulling her along after him. Jackie and Rose approached the small group. Jackie was rambling. "I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test, and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will." She was begging. She was begging for her child to stay. June felt her heart clench in her chest.

"I'm not leaving because of you," Rose said. "I'm travelling, that's all, and then I'll come back."

"But it's not safe," Jackie said.

"Mum, if you saw it out there, you'd never stay home." Rose turned to the Doctor and June, shrugging off a giant pink camping backpack.

"Got enough stuff?" the Doctor asked.

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment," Rose said. She shoved the backpack into the Doctor's arms. "Now, I'm signing up. You're stuck with me." She and June high-fived.

"You're almost as bad as her," the Doctor said, nodding at June.

"Almost?" June asked. "I didn't pack _that_ much."

"How long did it take for you to untangle the ball of chargers?" he asked.

Rose laughed. "Oh, I'm so excited for all of your bickering." She turned away and walked up to Mickey. "Come with us. There's plenty of room."

Mickey looked over at the Doctor with wide eyes. "No chance," the Doctor lied. "He's a liability, I'm not having him on board."

"We'd be dead without him," Rose argued.

"My decision is final," the Doctor said.

Rose turned back to Mickey. "Sorry." They kissed goodbye.

"Good luck, yeah," Mickey muttered.

Jackie suddenly turned on the Doctor. "You still can't promise me," she shot. "What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million lightyears away. How long do I wait then?" June dreaded to think of a situation where she was abandoned somewhere in the universe without the Doctor. If something happened to him while they were on another planet or in another time, she would lose everything.

Rose took her mom's shoulders and stood in front of her. "Mum, you're forgetting. It's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe, and by the time I get back, yeah, ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds. So, stop worrying. See you in ten seconds' time, yeah?" They hugged. June felt a little awkward just watching the family moment. But the Doctor turned to head back into the TARDIS, so she wouldn't look weird if she walked into the TARDIS herself.

She closed the door behind them. "Hey," she said, following him up to the console. "Don't get hurt and abandon us on some sort of moon or something."

The Doctor laughed and set Rose's backpack down on the floor. "As long as you promise not to wander off and get into some stupid trouble I have to save you from."

"Yeah, deal," June said.

Rose walked into the TARDIS. She grinned at her two friends. "So, Horsehead Nebula?" she asked.

"That's such a stupid name for a nebula," June scoffed.

"It looks like a horsehead, what else are they going to name it?" the Doctor asked.

"Are we going to go?" Rose asked.

June nodded. "Yeah, sure. But I get to pick the next location."

"Deal," Rose said.

The Doctor pulled a lever on the console and grinned at the two girls. The wheezing filled the console room and they headed off for another adventure.

* * *

 **Again, I don't think this chapter is fantastic, so I'd like to know your guy's thoughts**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	18. Dalek (Part 1)

**Hello everyone!**

 **We got an air date for series 11! I'm so excited!**

 **Anyway, today we start Dalek. Now, what I realized during writing is that there aren't a lot of scenes with Rose and by addition in this story, June, especially in the beginning. And there's also not a good place to split the chapters. So, it's gonna be a little awkward, but this is a really good episode so it'll make up for it (hopefully).**

 **I won't keep you any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18**

 **Dalek part 1**

A loud knocking on her bedroom door interrupted June's restless night of attempted sleep. She turned her throbbing head towards the noise. The door cracked open and the Doctor poked his head inside. "Wake up," he told her, his voice quiet yet still demanding. "Something's interfering with the TARDIS's flight pattern. We need to take a look." June groaned. She just wanted to sleep peacefully. "Ten minutes." And then he was gone.

June sighed. She hadn't been able to sleep anyway. The moment she sat up in bed, a wave a nausea crashed over her. She leaned over, her head upside down against the mattress and her hand clutching her stomach like holding it would make any difference. After a minute of sitting there, hoping the pain would stop with no results, she sat back up. She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead but she wasn't feverish. She forced herself to get up.

It took a while for June to get ready through the groggy way her body wanted to move and the stuffy feeling blocking normal thoughts. But she did finish everything, even managing to pull on a full outfit that even looked a little bit presentable. She swallowed down pills for the headache and the nausea, but had a bad feeling that it would make no difference.

The Doctor and Rose were already waiting for her when she walked into the console room. The appearance of her dead weight made the chatter between the two fall silent. The Doctor spoke to her first. "I said ten minutes." His tone didn't make the concerned way he was looking over her obvious.

June frowned at him. "Yeah, well—" she was too tired to come up with a comeback, "oh well."

Rose walked up to the brunette, eyebrows furrowed. The familiar green eyes seemed completely hollow. "You look terrible."

"Thanks, Rose," June deadpanned.

Rose pressed a hand to her forehead. "Are you sick?"

June swatted her hand away. "I'm fine. I'm feeling— I'm good." Rose frowned at her. "Seriously, I'm fine."

"Have you eaten anything?" she asked.

The wheezing of the TARDIS filled the room as June shook her head. "Don't feel like it." By the way Rose frowned, June could tell that she would try to convince her to eat and she wasn't in the mood for that. She didn't think she could stomach anything without dropping and becoming violently sick. "Where are we going?" she asked the Doctor. He gave her another once over. June caught the concern in his eye this time. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Where are we going?"

"Don't know," he said, flipping a switch on the console.

"Oh great," June said. "That's awesome. Nothing at all could possibly go wrong."

 **~*O*~**

They stepped into a dimly lit hallway. There were tall class cases full of black blob shaped objects lined down the long, narrow, seemingly endless room. The air was still and lifeless. It was as if nothing real had touched the ground in years.

"So, what is it?" Rose asked. "What's wrong?"

"Don't know," the Doctor said. "Some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course."

"Where are we?" Rose asked. June leaned against the TARDIS doors, watching the Doctor and Rose gaze around the narrow space.

"Earth," the Doctor said. "Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."

"Ooh, we're in America for once," June muttered, almost laughing to herself.

"And, when are we?" Rose asked.

The Doctor was obviously more focused on the dark things inside the display cases than Rose's questions, but still said, "2012."

"2012," June mouthed to herself. She had turned seventeen that February. She had stopped caring about school the second she left her junior year behind her. She had turned to making money for instruments and practicing audition songs for musicals. She was secretly seeing the delinquent next door as more than the friends that they had been before. She would sit on the roof of her house with him, going through cans of soda while they watched the Disneyland fireworks go off in the distance. It had been a much simpler time and she couldn't stop herself from smiling at the memories.

"God, that's so close," Rose sighed. "So, I should be twenty-six." June kept forgetting that Rose was years older than her. _She_ was supposed to be the child, not Rose.

And then everything lit up. June winced against the light, but when she could see again, everything was much clearer. They were in some sort of museum. A scarily clean, untouched museum. And even though they could all see, the items in the glass cases weren't much easier to identify. They were all misshapen and odd. None of them belonged here.

"Blimey," Rose gasped. "It's a great big museum."

"An alien museum," the Doctor said.

"Obviously," June scoffed. "Those things—" she glanced at the items in the glass cases, "—don't exactly look like they're from earth."

"Someone's got a hobby," the Doctor continued, glancing at the items in the glass cases. June was sure that he could identify each and every one with no issue. "They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship."

June smiled. "I _knew_ that was actually a spaceship."

"Of course, it was actually a spaceship," the Doctor said. "Does anyone actually think that it wasn't?"

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Rose exclaimed. It wasn't difficult to pick the Slitheen out from the rest of the alien clutter. A severed Slitheen arm stood upright and lifeless in one of the glass cases. "That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed."

"Where the hell did they get it from?" June wondered. She could only picture it being amongst the wreckage of the explosion they had caused.

The Doctor didn't care to notice the Slitheen. He was much more focused on another glass case with something inside that made him sigh and say, "Oh, look at you."

It was an old, silver robot head with handle bars on the side and dead eyes that looked like they were stuck mid-cry. June joined him at the case, but didn't spent much time staring at the robot, but instead looked up at him. It was like the Doctor could see nothing else. He wasn't just staring, but remembering. "Did you know that thing?" June asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. An old friend of mine. Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

June stared at the robot. _That_ had been the stuff of nightmares? "It looks like it's from the sixties." The Doctor looked down at her. She was focused on scanning the robot's features. He smiled softly at her. He was glad her little comments could make him stop remembering.

"Is that where the signal's coming from?" Rose asked. June hadn't noticed her appear next to her shoulder.

"No, it's stone dead," the Doctor said. "The signal's alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He took another moment to stare at his past. And then he lifted his hand and touched the glass.

And then an alarm sounded. It blared and echoed off the walls of the hallway. June almost jumped a foot off the ground, a movement her stomach didn't like nor agree with. Soldiers poured into the room, popping out around the glass cases and surrounded them.

"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A," Rose told the Doctor. June winced. She hadn't even thought of that.

 **~*O*~**

They were escorted into an office by a tall blonde woman and about fifty guards. Two men sat behind a large desk, an older man and a boy, about Rose's age. The older man obviously didn't care much about anything and the boy seemed tiny and naïve compared to him. And on the wall behind the desk hung an abstract painting of the older man.

The boy handed the older man a small, grey, alien device. "What does it do?" the older man asked. June was almost stunned to hear actual American accents on one of their trips instead of the usual European-esque ones.

"Well, you see the tubes on the side?" the boy asked. June frowned. So much for being in a room full of Americans. "It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel."

"I really wouldn't hold it like that," the Doctor interrupted.

"Shut it," the blonde woman snapped. Her voice so harsh it almost made June jump.

"Really, though," the Doctor continued, "that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?" the boy asked.

"No, it just looks silly." He started for the desk. The loud clicking of the cocking guns rang out behind them, making everyone freeze in place. The older man held his hand up and the guns lowered. He stood and, with an intrigued look on his face, handed the Doctor the device.

"You just need to be—" the Doctor ran his fingers lightly against the ridges of the alien device. Soft noises played from the object. It sounded like what June imagined stars to sound like. Shining, glimmering, and alien. "—delicate."

The older man smiled widely. "It's a musical instrument."

"And it's a long way from home," the Doctor said.

"Here, let me." The older man plucked the device right out of the Doctor's hand. It didn't sound right when he tried to play it. Instead of sounding like shining, the music sounded more like mechanical errors with out of tone beeping.

"I did say delicate," the Doctor said. "It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision." And a few moments later, the music began to sound right again. The Doctor smiled. "Very good. Quiet the expert."

"As are you," the older man said. He tossed the musical instrument aside. It hit the wall with a loud crack that made June flinch and fell to the floor. Any amusement on the Doctor's face vanished. "Who exactly are you?" the older man asked.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said. "And who are you?"

"Like you don't know," the older man retorted. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."

The Doctor laughed. "Pretty much sums me up, yeah." June couldn't help but laugh with him.

"The question is," the older man started around the desk, "how did you get in? Fifty-three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplices. You're quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty." His attitude about her and Rose made June feel sicker than she already did.

"They're gonna smack you if you keep calling them they," Rose retorted.

"She's English too!" the older man exclaimed without even looking at Rose. He glanced over his shoulder at the boy. "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy, got you a girlfriend." He looked back at the Doctor. "Is this one English, too?" he asked, pointing at June.

June gritted her teeth. She didn't know who he was, but she didn't like him. "I'm not," she said. "And I can answer questions about myself, thanks."

The older man laughed. "They're both a little feisty." He focused back on June. "Look at this one's eyes." June tried to make her annoyance obvious. She didn't appreciate being referred to as ' _this one_.' She squirmed under the older man's curious stare. "Are they natural?" he asked. It seemed like he was asking the Doctor again, but of course, he wouldn't answer for her.

"Of course, they're natural," June said. "You can't exactly go change your eye color."

The older man laughed. "Sure, you can't."

"This is Mister Henry Van Statten," the boy said. June stopped. She knew that name. Van Statten had been a popular, very successful business man years back, but he mysteriously disappeared one day and was never seen again. June hadn't paid much attention to him because at seventeen she was more concerned with due dates, rehearsal, and finding enough time to sleep.

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose asked.

"Mister Van Statten owns the internet," the boy said.

June almost laughed. Rose said, "Don't be stupid. No one owns the internet."

Van Statten grinned. "And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?"

"So, you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up," the Doctor said.

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten asked.

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am," the Doctor said.

"And yet, I captured you," Van Statten reminded him. June sighed. Ego vs Ego. She was already too tired for it. "Right next to the cage," he continued. "What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me," the Doctor said.

"The cage contains my one living specimen." If Van Statten treated people the way he had treated June and Rose, she wondered how bad he would treat some alien he had trapped in his basement.

"Show me," the Doctor demanded.

"You want to see it?"

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone," Rose sighed. June snickered.

"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down," Van Statten ordered. "You, English. Look after the girls. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do." June wasn't sure if he remembered that she was American or not. "And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."

 **~*O*~**

They were taken into another room, another office. This one was opposite of the clean, professional one they had been held in before. This one was dark and cluttered, stuck in the corner of the huge underground museum base. "Sorry about the mess," the boy—Adam—said. "Mister Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods."

June sat down in the first chair she saw. She leaned over, her arms resting against her softly trembling legs. Rose and Adam carried a conversation by themselves. June was fine with it. She didn't feel like observing the conversation and pretending to be interested. She was too busy shifting uncomfortably and feeling sick.

"What do you think that is?" Adam asked. He handed Rose some alien object.

Rose turned the object over in her hands. "Er, a lump of metal?"

"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Yeah, but I think, well, I'm almost certain, it's from the hull of a spaceship. The thing is," he leaned over the desk closer to Rose, "it's all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet, spacecraft, aliens, visitors to Earth. They really exist." June smiled softly. At least not _everyone_ was either completely blind or in denial.

"That's amazing," Rose said. She was clearly choosing to leave out the truth, probably for the better.

"I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe the whole universe is just teeming with life," Adam said.

"I'm gobsmacked, yeah," Rose nodded.

June snickered. "Gobsmack is an actual word?"

Adam and Rose looked over at her. Rose nodded like this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah."

June shrugged. "I guess I can't judge." She slouched in her chair, but her stomach churned as her body stretched so she quickly sat back up.

Rose turned back to Adam. "So, you do what, sit here and catalogue it?"

Adam grinned. "Best job in the world."

"Imagine if you could get out there," Rose said. "Travel amongst the stars and see it for real." She was pushing it. It seemed like she was teasing the idea. Imagine if you could. He didn't know that they did.

"Yeah, I'd give anything," Adam told her. "I don't think it's ever going to happen. Not in our lifetimes."

"Oh, you never know." Rose began to look around at the objects hanging from the walls and the ceiling. "What about all those people who say they've been inside of spaceships and things and talked to aliens?"  
Adam took a drink out of a mug and nodded his head. "I think they're nutters."

Rose stopped and looked over at him. She slowly grinned and laughed. "Yeah, me too." And that's why June never said anything. People would think that she's crazy.

"So," Rose said, "how'd you end up here?"

"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit," Adam explained. Geniuses. Adam seemed smart, but not a genius.

"Oh, right. You're a genius," Rose retorted, rolling her eyes.

Adam shrugged. "Sorry, but yeah. I can't help it. I was born clever." Rose grinned. June watched him with narrow eyes. He seemed off to her. Maybe it was something about the way he spoke or the way he acted. June wanted to hit herself. She shouldn't be judging, she didn't even know him. And Rose seemed to like him, so why did June feel off? "When I was eight," Adam continued, "I logged onto the US Defense System. Nearly caused World War Three."

"What, and that's funny, is it?" Rose asked. June frowned. They were flirting right in front of her, weren't they?

"Well, you should've been there just to see them running about. Fantastic!" Adam laughed.

Rose laughed and looked away. "You sound like the Doctor." June shook her head, staring down at the concrete floor. No, no he didn't.

"Are you and him…?" his words fell off.

"No, we're just friends," Rose said. "That'd be June."

Everything froze for a moment. June's breath and voice nearly caught in her throat. "I'm sorry, what?" Rose smirked and winked at the brunette. It was like she knew something. But there wasn't anything to know.

"Good," Adam said.

Rose raised her eyebrows at him. "Why is it good?"

What the hell had she meant, ' _That'd be June_ '? June didn't know what Rose saw between them. She had to be making something out of nothing. They were just friends. Good friends. Nothing more.

"It just is," Adam said.

They were both silent for a moment. Rose glanced over at June, but looked away when she saw the look on the woman's face. "So," she said, "wouldn't you rather be downstairs?" She started around the desk. "I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mister Van Statten's got a living creature down there." Right, they were there for a reason. The Doctor was already down there, but that didn't mean he wouldn't need backup.

"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Yeah, well, I did ask, but he keeps it to himself. Although, if you're a genius, it doesn't take long to patch through on the comm system."

Rose grinned. "Let's have a look, then." Adam turned to his computer. Rose looked over at June. "Come here, you. You've been too quiet lately."

June sighed and heaved herself off of her chair. She had to go and look, didn't she? Rose couldn't help but watch her with a concerned eye. June was stumbling and staggering as she walked.

"It doesn't do much," Adam said, "the alien. It's weird. It's kind of useless. It's just like this great big pepper pot."

June stood with Rose and Adam and watched as the live feed popped up on the computer. Adam was right, the alien looked like one of those salt and pepper shakers. Just… more off. There was obviously something wrong with it. It was chained to the spot where it stood, like it was the most dangerous creature in the universe. It didn't look dangerous, but something told June that it was.

And then a man in an orange hazmat suit approached the alien. He had a large drill in his hand. He aimed it at the large, dirty, alien shell. It began to spin and spin and the alien screamed mechanically. No matter how off it seemed… it didn't deserve what was happening to it.

"It's being tortured!" Rose exclaimed. "Where's the Doctor?"

June frowned. Where _was_ the Doctor? He never would never let anyone or anything be tortured with a giant drill. He would have already stopped or at least be trying to. However, June doubted that Van Satten was a very lenient man. Who knew if he would even let the Doctor get close to the alien.

"I don't know," Adam answered.

"Take us down there now," Rose demanded.

 **~*O*~**

Rose was very obviously very determined to solve the problem. June was nervous and less than enthusiastic. June hadn't seen the Doctor anywhere on their trip down to the cage. He and Van Statten had just gone missing. It screamed that something was off.

They walked into the room right outside the cage and a security guard immediately jumped up out of his chair to stop them. "Hold it right there."

But Adam had it handled, holding up an ID card and saying, "Level three access. Special clearance from Mister Van Statten."

The cage door was already open, as if the room was just sitting and waiting for people to come in and gawk at the alien. The room itself was dark and their attentions were immediately pulled away from the massive amounts of controls around them right to the alien. It stood right across from them, chained up and bathed in dim light.

June felt weird looking at the alien. It felt like there was something going on behind the metal. She knew that she was taller than it, she knew that it was chained up, it couldn't do anything to her. They were here to save whatever it was, not to fear it.

Although Adam told her, "Don't get too close," Rose was very willing to approach the alien. June inched along behind her, ready to grab the blonde and yank her away before anything happened. The alien did seem defenseless, but a lot of aliens did before they attacked.

"Hello," Rose said, looking at the alien right in its bright blue eye. "Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. This is June Harlow." She gestured back to June. "We've got a friend, he can help. He's called the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Yes," the alien droned in its rough robotic voice.

"What?" Rose asked.

The alien's eye moved to meet Rose's. "I am in pain." June softened. No, it had to be defenseless. And it wasn't right for her to be defensive when it needed help. She wasn't like that. Maybe it was the sick feeling in her stomach or something else mysterious in the air that was throwing her off, but she usually wasn't one to go against those in pain. "They torture me," it continued, "but still, they fear me. Do you fear me?"

"No," Rose said.

The alien turned its eye to June. Just it laying its sight on her felt heavy on her brain. "Do you?" it asked. June silently shook her head. There was no reason to fear it. Any wrong feeling in her gut had to be mistaken.

Its eye lowered to the ground. "I am dying."

"No, we can help," Rose argued.

"You'll be fine," June agreed.

"I welcome death," it said. It looked up at Rose. "But I am glad that before I die I have met humans who were not afraid." June felt its words physically take her heart and squeeze it tight.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Rose asked.

"My race is dead," the alien said, "and I shall die alone." June thought of the Doctor.

Something told her to reach for it. It was dying. It was stuck in a metal shell, wasting away alone and in pain. Anyone would feel sympathy for it. So, June reached up, took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the alien's metal head. She regretted it immediately. The metal burned her skin and she recoiled away. Her golden handprinted faded into the alien's shell. She had done something wrong.

Suddenly, the alien was much more alive. It lit up and its head whizzed around mechanically. "Genetic material extrapolated." June grabbed Rose and pulled her to the back of the room towards Adam. Something had changed. She had changed it. "Initiate cellular reconstruction!" The chains snapped against the alien's weight.

The man in the orange hazmat suit came into the room, carrying the large drill. "What have you done?" he snapped at the group. He approached the alien. It raised one of its hands which looked a bit like a plunger. "What are you going to do?" the man asked. "Sucker me to death?" And it did. The alien's plunger hand grabbed the man's face and started suckering him to death. No, this definitely wasn't the same alien June had felt bad for a minute ago.

They ran out of the cage. "Get some backup in there!" June shouted.

"It's killing him!" Rose yelled, running up to a control deck. "Do something!"

One of the guards spoke into a microphone. "Condition red! Condition red! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

June had insisted that someone go in and try to save the man in the hazmat suit, but everyone knew it was already too late to save him. So, the cage door was sealed shut. But the rest of them could be saved. No other deaths would be her fault. They all just stood around, with anxiously crossed arms and jittering legs, waiting from orders from Van Statten who was taking his sweet time getting back to them.

But when he did appear on the computer screen, the Doctor was with him and he did not look happy. June was washed with relief to see that he was fine. She was almost sure that something could have happened to him. "You've got to keep it in that cell," the Doctor ordered.

June pushed her way to the screen. "So, it's kinda my fault," she told him. He gaped at her. "But I was just trying to be nice and I felt bad. I didn't know what would happen!"

A guard appeared at her shoulder. "I've sealed the compartment," he said. "It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"A Dalek's a genius," the Doctor said. June froze at the alien's name. She only knew that name for one, very bad reason. "It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

" _That's_ a Dalek?" June asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah." The dying alien June had felt sympathy for was a Dalek, a menacing, killing machine, one of the species that started the Time War, the Doctor's worst enemy. And now it was alive again because of her.

"But you said—"

The Doctor interrupted her, "And I was wrong."

"Is now a good time to tell you that I've been feeling sick since I woke up today?" June asked. She nervously smiled at him.

He gaped at her. "No!"

"Well—" she laughed a strained laugh and shrugged. The Doctor stared at her incredulously.

June and Rose were quickly pushed away from the screen and towards the exit. They stood with Adam behind two security guards. They held their guns up to the cage door. A long series of various numbers were alternating on the cage lock. The numbers quickly turned into a string of number signs. And then the door cracked, swung open, and revealed the Dalek.

Looking at it was worse now. June knew what exactly it was. But to her, it didn't look like the monster the Doctor had described it to be. The only man that it had mercilessly killed was the one who had been torturing it and even though that didn't justify his death, a human would've done the same.

One of the guards shouted, "Open fire!" and the guns started to go off. June flinched and Rose grabbed her arm, backing away from the noise.

Van Statten's muffled voice came from the computer screen. "Don't shoot it! I want it unharmed!"

And then the Doctor's voice, "June, Rose, get out of there!"

They backed up through the doorway as the Dalek slowly approached them. And then it stopped and turned, deciding to go towards the computers instead. The guards took the moment to reload and bark orders. "De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job, got that?"

De Maggio nodded and started towards the exit. She nodded at the group of three and said, "You, with me." They left the other guard to shoot at the Dalek.

 **~*O*~**

They were running. Running as people were dying. June could hear the screams and the cries from the soldiers who fought against the seemingly impenetrable Dalek. She realized that it was much more menacing than it looked. It was killing everyone in its path. It seemed much more like the monster the Doctor had described than what June had initially seen. And it was all her fault. The blood was on her hands.

June was constantly lagging behind the group. Her wobbly legs didn't want to work and the sick had worked its way up to bobbing in her throat. The feeling in her stomach felt less like that of a stomach and more like hands twisting and punching her innards like it was Playdough or slime. She was usually a fast runner, but now she just felt like the entire definition of her being was to feel sick and nauseous.

But even though she felt like if she opened her mouth any more without getting sick, the moment she saw it in the distance in front of them, she cried out, "Stairs! There are stairs!"

Rose reached back, grabbed one of her arms, and excitedly pulled her into the stairwell. "That's more like it!" she exclaimed. "It hasn't got legs. It's stuck!" They grinned at each other. June didn't want to show it on her face, but she was dreading the quick, jumping climb up the staircase.

De Maggio pushed them towards the stairs. "It's coming! Get up!"

They all clambered up the staircase. June felt like her stomach was threatening to fall out of her body. They stopped up the second large flight. June leaned against the railing next to Rose. She kept struggling to catch her breath. It felt like each breath was scraping violently down her throat. And just as they were able to stay still, the Dalek rolled through the doorway.

It stopped, staring at the staircase. June stared down at it. How could something so unintimidating kill so many people in such a little amount of time? And now it seemed completely stuck.

"Great big alien death machine defeated by a flight of stairs," Adam mocked.

"That thing's just killed a lot of people and you want to tease it?" June asked him through ragged breaths.

The Dalek turned its eye up to them. De Maggio held out her gun. Her hands were shaking. June swallowed. She had to be the strong one here. Not June, not Rose, not Adam, but _her_. She was in charge, having to lay down her life before everyone else's. It wasn't fair. She must've been just as scared as the rest of them. "Now, listen to me," she demanded of the Dalek. "I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate then I can guarantee that Mister Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops right now. The killing stops. Have you got that? I demand that you surrender. Is that clear?"

The Dalek was quiet. And then, "Elevate." And it began to rise into the air.

"Ah, shit," June groaned.

Rose gasped, "Oh my god."

And as the Dalek rose up the stairs towards them, De Maggio turned to Adam and said, "Adam, get them out of here."

"You're not staying behind," June argued. "It'll kill you."

"You can't stop it," Rose agreed.

"Someone's got to try," De Maggio said. The Dalek was dangerously close. "Now get out!" She shoved them away with her free hand. "Don't look back. Just run."

They did what they were told. They ran up the last flight of stairs. They all ran down the nearest hallway, June watching Rose and Adam's backs ahead of her. And then De Maggio screamed. June couldn't take a moment to close her eyes. She would have to remember to tell someone how brave she had been.

 **~*O*~**

June watched Rose and Adam stop in front of her. When she caught up, she noticed a room full of armed soldiers and employees of all different types. They had really ramped up the gun power. "You three, get the hell out of there!" the soldier in charge shouted at them.

So, they ran. They stopped in the back doorway, watching the still scene in front of them. June and Rose wrapped supportive arms around each other as they were both tired of running. The people outside were so still that it seemed almost like a picture. That is, until the Dalek rolled onto the scene.

It looked right at them. Right at her. June held eye contact with it. It was staring at her. And nothing moved. No one attacked and no one moved. The Dalek just stared at her.

"We have to go," June whispered to Rose and Adam.

Adam pulled Rose away and Rose pulled June with her. Rose tugged on June's arm. "It was looking at you," she said as they jogged away.

June shook her head. "No…." She knew that it was. But she didn't want it to have been.

"Yeah, it wants to slaughter us," Adam said.

"I know, but it was looking right at her," Rose shot back.

"So?" Adam asked. "It's just sort of a metal eye thing. It's looking all around."

Rose shook her head. "I don't know. It's like there's something inside." She looked up at June. "Didn't you see it?

June held up her hands, moving away. "Okay, honestly, I don't know what's going on with that thing. But we don't exactly have the time to figure it out. If we stay here, we're dead. And I don't want that. So, we're going and we're not going back. Okay?" There were silent nods. "Okay, let's go then."

As they ran, June wondered if something could be going on with that Dalek. Maybe Rose was onto something. Maybe something on the inside was changing. But then again, it was killing so many people, how was it any different to what the Doctor had described? And now, that thing was in charge of the fate of a room full of people. And no one could do anything about it.

* * *

 **That's part one of Dalek!**

 **What did you guys think?**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	19. Dalek (Part 2)

**Hello guys!**

 **Today we finish up Dalek! The next episode is the Long Game, an episode I really don't care about one way or another so I'm going to try to make it interesting.**

 **Also, I finished reading the Day of the Doctor novelization the Target exclusive one and it was really good so I recommend you guys go and read it. It's real interesting and very meta.**

 **Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer.**

 **Happy reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19**

 **Dalek part 2**

Stairs. There were just stairs. June's stomach could barely handle it. She had fallen far behind Rose and Adam. Her legs wobbled underneath her, threatening to toss her to the floor. She could already imagine herself spilling over onto the concrete and getting sick everywhere.

She jumped when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She dug it out and an unknown number shone on the screen. She usually ignored unknown calls, but she figured the Doctor would be trying to reach her. So, she answered it. "Hey," she said. Her voice felt like it was bubbling up in her throat.

"Where are you?" the Doctor asked.

June glanced around. A large sign hung on the wall next to a steel door. "Floor forty-nine."

"You've got to keep moving," he told her. "The vault's being sealed off up at level forty-six."

"Um, alright." She stumbled as she jumped onto the next step. Her body crashed onto the concrete. Rose shouted back to her. The Doctor's quiet, muffled voice asked her if she was okay from the phone speaker. June quickly stood back up again and pressed the phone to her ear. "I'm fine." She began to run again, despite her body's harsh arguments. "Stop the door from closing. We'll be there soon."

"I can't," he told her. "I'm the one who's closing them." June sighed. "I can't wait and I can't help you. Now, for God's sake, run."

"Yeah, I figured that," June grumbled into the phone. She really just wanted to close her eyes and fall over. She wanted the world to be still.

June ran as fast as she could. Even though everything in her body ached and burned, she ran. And as her steps pounded down the hallway, it began to feel like her body didn't exist and instead she existed inside the horrible sick feeling. The pain pushed tears down her red cheeks. She couldn't help but think about how she just wanted to stop. She wanted to sleep and feel safe and okay again. The stress of the chase and the stress of the illness pounded against her bones and her brain and she was about to burst.

"Done it," Van Statten's muffled voice came from the other side of the call. "We've got power to the bulkheads."

"The Dalek's right behind them," Goddard added. Those words made June feel worse.

"June?" the Doctor asked.

"We're—" she took a deep breath. "We're almost there. Just a few more seconds."

June knew that salvation sat just around the corner, but it never got any closer. Despite being much further along than June, Rose and Adam weren't even close to the exit. And the more she fought towards safety, the worse everything became. It felt more like tugging against chains than running with a stomach ache.

"Doctor," Van Statten said, "I can't sustain the power. The whole system is failing. Doctor, you've got to close the bulkheads."

She _had_ to make it. If she didn't, June would be another victim of not just that singular Dalek, but the whole destructive race. But her hope and confidence drained too quick. She was not much more than dead weight. And she began to cry. Not just silent, painful tears, but a real cry. She couldn't hold it back. Something had to give. Not that it made anything any easier.

The Doctor's voice was soft, muttering, as if he couldn't bare for her to hear him. "I'm sorry."

Rose and Adam turned the corner before June could even see the way around it. She still could hear Adam call back, "Come on!" like they weren't already going as fast as they could.

The door had already closed half way when June ran around the corner. She forced her legs to go faster despite how they shook and sputtered. Adam rolled under the door, safe. And then Rose rolled under as well. She was safe. Rose was fine and that was good. The door slammed shut.

June's broken running continued until her body hit the steel door. Her tears turned into sobs and her lungs gasped for air. She slid to the floor where the concrete and the steel met to make a cold spot. Before this, June had had no idea what agony felt like, but she figured that this was close enough.

She doubled over and got sick in the corner of the hallway.

June stood back up, not bearing to sit next to her own sick. She leaned against the steel wall. Her face welcomed the cold of the metal. She could hear loud banging from the other side, muffled screams and arguments. June brought the phone back up to her ear. "Where are you?" the Doctor asked, his voice already taking over everything. "June, did you make it? What about Rose?"

Just when she thought the crying was over, it started again. "Rose is fine," she choked out. "But I didn't—" her words were drowned out by sobs. "This is fucking torture. I was screwed over by my own goddamn body. Fucking pathetic." The Doctor didn't say anything. The only noise was that of a machine rolling into the room. This wasn't like the explosion. She had been protected by steel and rooms inside rooms. This was more like having a gun pressed to your head. No escape. And she couldn't bear to look at it.

She stared at the steel and started rambling off all of her pre-death thoughts. "Okay, you're still there right?" The Doctor said nothing but she could hear him breathing. It was so faint she was scared she was hearing things. "Anyway, it's gonna suck for you and I'm sorry… but take my back home once this is over. I'd like to be buried at home." She was talking about her own funeral without joking or acting. It made her feel worse. "Tell my family and friends that I love them. They deserve that. They also deserve the truth. Don't stick around afterwards. Grace will try to beat you to death." Her voice choked and cracked. She was doing this to Grace, to her parents, to her sister, to Logan, to Parker, everyone she loved. "And you. _Please,_ I beg of you, don't blame yourself. This isn't and never will be your fault. If you blame yourself I will come back from the dead and haunt you until you stop. Because it was my choice to be here. It was my choice to travel with you. And honestly, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I adore you. You don't—" her voice cracked, "—you don't deserve that pain again. I'm sorry." She could hear the Dalek behind her. Its whirring and mechanical hissing. She told herself not to be scared of her death, not after the pitiful way she ended up in front of it. She lowered her phone and turned to face it.

They locked eyes. June thought about what she would've said to her family and friends if she had the time to sit down and talk to them. And then came the mechanical voice, "Exterminate!" and June closed her eyes.

 **~*O*~**

The Doctor ripped off his earpiece. He couldn't listen to that. Not to her— "I killed her."

 **~*O*~**

 _June sat in the console room with him instead of sleeping. She was sprawled out on the tattered jump seat. She held her guitar across her stomach and slowly strummed a tune the Doctor didn't recognize. She was in the middle of some story about running around, trying to catch fake snowflakes as a kid. She had only seen her first real snowfall that day. She told him that soap suds and snowflakes were so much different than she had really thought. She had had nothing to base it on beforehand._

 _The Doctor sat, tinkering with the console. If one were to look at him, it would seem like he was just tolerating her story, but he was listening. He liked hearing her talk, or sing, or hell, even hum. It took his mind off of everything else. She just reminded him of how beautifully simplistic life could be. She never chose to dwell on the atrocities. She thought about the nice things, things that made her happy. And they were never saving a planet or discovering the answer to a secret lost to history, they were just simplistic things, like days on the beach or small road trips with her friends. She was a break for his mind. With her, he didn't have to think about the past that lingered in his memory and if he did, she was usually the one set on making him feel better. She had once told him that there wasn't much of a point to be purposely sad. That's why she never told any sad stories. That's why she always tried to cheer him up and keep him smiling. He supposed that neither of them had any clue how much he actually appreciated that._

 **~*O*~**

And he had killed her.

Van Statten's voice came quietly from behind him. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor looked over at him. "I promised I'd protect her. She was only here because of me, and you're sorry? I could've killed that Dalek in its cell, but you stopped me." And now it had killed her. She was gone. They had taken someone else from him.

"It was the prize of my collection!" Van Statten argued weakly.

"Your collection?" the Doctor boomed. "But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth June? Let me tell you something, Van Staten. Mankind goes into space to explore, to be part of something greater."

"Exactly!" Van Statten cried. "I wanted to touch the stars!"

"You just wanted to drag the stars down and stick them underground, underneath tons of sand and dirt, and label them!" he argued. "You're about as far from the stars as you can get." He stopped. He thought of June again. She probably would have told him to calm down by now. He would rather hear her scolding him than to not hear her at all. "And you took her down with you. She was twenty-two years old." No, wait. "Almost twenty-three."

 **~*O*~**

June didn't think she was dead. She could still open her eyes. She could still feel herself breathing. The Dalek stood right in front of her, staring, unmoving, unshifting. "I'm… not dead," June said. The Dalek was a killing machine, literally, and yet, she was alive. "Why am I not dead?"

"I am armed," the Dalek droned. "I will kill. It is my purpose."

"Yeah, I got that," June said. "You're meant to kill. You killed everyone who stood in your way."

"We killed everyone who stood in my way," the Dalek corrected. Right, still her fault.

"So?" June asked. "I'm standing right here in front of you and you're doing nothing. What gives?"

"I feel your fear," the Dalek said.

June nodded. "Do you expect me not to be afraid? After what you've done." _We_.

"Daleks do not fear," it said, head shaking. "Must not fear." Its gun fired. June shrieked and closed herself up in some sort of weak protection attempt. It shot either side of her and only close enough not to hit her. "You have given me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated."

 **~*O*~**

The elevator door open and Rose and Adam walked into Van Satten's office. Rose had obviously been crying. Adam seemed less than effected. The Doctor turned on them. "You were quick on your feet, leaving June behind!" He wasn't shouting particularly at either one of them, he was just shouting.

Adam got right up in the Doctor's face, something the Doctor didn't take kindly to. "We're not the ones who sealed the vault!"

Rose pushed her way between the two and kept them apart. "Stop shouting, both of you!" Her voice was still strong despite how she had been screaming. And they listened, they stopped shouting, but they didn't stop glaring at each other.

"Open the bulkhead or June Harlow dies."

Everyone turned to the screen. There, displayed on it, was the Dalek and a perfectly alive June Harlow. The Doctor's hearts skipped a beat. He barely knew what to say. He grinned and held back a laugh. "You're alive!"

Rose gasped behind him. "Oh my god, you're okay!"

June could get used to seeing him so happy. It was a little difficult making everything out so far away, but god, she had never seen so much joy on his face before. "Yep," she nodded. "I still feel like shit though. I might have the flu."

He quickly turned concerned again. "I thought you were dead."

"Open the bulkhead!" the Dalek demanded.

"I would advise against that," June told him. Let it out, it would kill more people. Don't let it out, it would just kill her.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" the Dalek asked.

June furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at the Dalek. "Who the hell are _you_ talking about? We're talking about me, here." She looked back up at the Doctor. He had this look on his face. Maybe it was fear, concern, anger, hurt, guilt, maybe all of those. "Don't do it," she said.

The Doctor looked back. Rose nodded quickly, encouraging him to do it. He walked over to the computer. "I killed her once. I can't do it again."

That pain. That hurt. It had been for her. Oh. Oh, he cared too much.

The bulkhead door opened and the screen cut off.

Van Statten started around his desk towards the Doctor. "What do we do now, you bleeding heart?" he demanded. "What the hell do we do?"

"Stop shouting," Rose snapped. "We'll figure something out."

The Doctor, meanwhile, didn't exactly know what to say. He had saved June. That's what was important.

"Kill it when it gets here," Adam said.

"We can't," Rose argued. "Don't you see, it's changing."

"Changing?" Van Statten demanded. "You're delusional. It'll kill all of us."

"That's why we have to get to it first," Adam said.

"All the guns are useless, and the alien weapons are in the vault," Goddard said.

"Only the catalogued ones," Adam said.

 **~*O*~**

They piled back into Adam's workshop. The Doctor immediately went towards a large basket of alien weapons and began to sort through them, tossing them aside when he didn't like them. "Broken." Toss. "Broken." Toss.

"You can't do this," Rose pleaded. "The Dalek is changing. It didn't kill June when we all know that it could have."

"Broken." Toss.

"I think it might be changing for the better," Rose said.

The Doctor stopped and looked back at her. "I know the Daleks. They don't change." He tossed another weapon side. "Hairdryer."

"Mister Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory," Adam explained. "I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day."

"What, you in a fight? I'd like to see that," the Doctor shot.

"I could do," Adam argued. Rose rolled he eyes.

"What are you going to do, throw your A-Levels at 'em?"

"Doctor," Rose complained. "Stop being rude."

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the basket. He picked up a particularly large gun and balanced it in his arms. "Oh, yes. Lock and load." Rose stared at him. What was he turning into?

 **~*O*~**

The elevator slowly rose towards Van Statten's office. June glanced at the Dalek. "So," she said, "listen." It was silent. She guessed that it was listening. "I know you have every right to be pissed at Van Statten for treating you like shit, but you don't have to kill him. Or anyone for that matter. Like, you don't even have a reason to want to kill the rest of them. You didn't kill me so…."

The Dalek swung its eye towards her. June jumped away, stumbling back against the wall. "But why not?" the Dalek demanded. "Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I?" It looked away. "What am I?" June didn't really know.

The elevator door opened. Van Statten stood there in the middle of the room, utterly terrified, as if he was just waiting for his death. "I would suggest being very careful," June told him. "Don't piss it off any more than you already have." She glanced around the office, but the Doctor and Rose were nowhere to be seen.

"Van Statten." The Dalek rolled out of the elevator. "You tortured me. Why?"

Van Statten stumbled away as the Dalek rolled closer and closer. "I wanted to help you," he said. Probably bullshit, if June had to guess. "I just—I don't know." He had begun to panic. "I was trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you. I wanted you better. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I swear," his back hit a wall, "I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now," the Dalek said. "Exterminate!" June darted towards it. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"No!" June boomed. Her arm came between Van Satten and the Dalek. She tried to make her voice as demanding and strong as possible. She didn't know how well it sounded. "Stop it!" The Dalek looked over at her. "You don't have to kill him. If you kill him, that doesn't make you any better than he is! Do something else! Like…" she faltered, "I dunno. What do you want?"

The Dalek looked at Van Statten, then back at June. "I want freedom."

June nodded. "Alright. As long as you don't kill anyone else _ever_ again, you can have your freedom."

 **~*O*~**

June followed the Dalek through the hallway. It stopped in the middle of the floor and aimed its gun into the air. The gun fired and a hole appeared in the ceiling. June jumped away from the falling rubble and stumbled to keep herself up. Sunlight poured in through the open hole and June realized how much she had missed the warmth and the bright blue sky.

"Well," June said. "There you go. Freedom. Sunlight."

"How does it feel?" the Dalek asked.

"Good," June said. "Warm. Reminds me of happiness." She looked down at it. "Isn't there a way that you can feel it? It's worth just a taste."

It took a lot of mechanical whirring and slow-moving machines, but the Dalek opened its armor. June almost didn't want to look, but she forced herself to. Inside the metal sat a mutant creature with slimy sticky white skin, a large bulging eye, and many tentacles. It almost took June's breath away despite having seen weirder. She didn't think that there would be something so organic hidden inside such a large metal casing.

"Get out of the way!" The voice made June jump. She spun around on her heels and there he was, the Doctor. And in his hands, he held a large, menacing gun, something June would have never even associated with him. Rose hid half way behind him. She looked just as alarmed as June was. "June, get out of the way now!"

June almost laughed. The sight in front of her couldn't be real. "What? You're kidding." She looked over at Rose. "He's kidding, right?"

"I tried to stop him," Rose muttered, shaking her head. "Wouldn't listen."

June looked back at the Doctor. The man who stood in front of her was driven by hatred and fear. The Doctor was scared. She could see it in his eyes. He feared for her. He hated the Dalek, for a very understandable reason. But June was his friend. And as his friend, she couldn't let him go along with this. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Please," he said, obviously trying to keep his voice level, "get away from it."

June shook her head. "No way. Not if you're going to do what I think you're prepared to do."

Rose walked across the room, not caring about the way the Doctor gaped at her. She joined June in front of the Dalek. "That makes two of us," she said. They smiled at each other. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay, too," June said.

"That think killed hundreds of people," the Doctor snapped. She could see him shaking. She just wanted to hug him, but she had to stand her ground.

"But look at you," she said. "You're better than this, Doctor."

"I've got to do this," he argued. "I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."

June hadn't felt so much pain for someone before. Then again, she hadn't met anyone who held as much pain as the Doctor did. It felt like a betrayal to who she was to let him stand there and hurt, but he'd be better in the long run if she stopped him. "I know," she nodded. "But this doesn't fix things."

"Just look at it," Rose said. She stepped aside, pulling June along with her so he could see the Dalek.

The Doctor watched it with furrowed eyebrows. It was clear from his face that he had never seen a Dalek in such a vulnerable state. "What's it doing?"

The Dalek raised its tentacle up, reaching for something it could never touch. "It just wanted to feel the sunlight," June said.

The Doctor shook his head. "But it can't."

June shrugged. "I mean, it didn't kill Van Statten. It didn't kill me. It's not a normal Dalek. It's changed. And _you're_ changing. What the hell is this?" she gestured to him. "Cause it's not you."

The Doctor let the gun fall to his side. "I couldn't—" his voice strained in his throat. "I wasn't—" it sounded like he was lost. He didn't know what to say. "Oh, June. They're all dead."

"Why," the Dalek droned, "do we survive?"

"I don't know," the Doctor said.

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"You're not even that," the Doctor told it. "June did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA." June rubbed her hand. "You're mutating."

"Into what?" the Dalek asked.

"Something new," the Doctor said. They were all silent. "I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked.

"Not for a Dalek," the Doctor said.

"I—" it took it a while to get out the words, "—can feel so many ideas. So much darkness." Its eye shifted to look at her. "June, give me orders," it said. "Order me to die."

June suddenly felt unstable on her feet. "What?" The Dalek didn't say anything. She shook her head. "No, I can't do that." She didn't say it, but it would be like killing it herself and there was no way she could do that.

"This is not life," the Dalek said. "This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction!" And upon her silence, the Dalek started to chant, "Obey! Obey! Obey!"

But June couldn't. Her mouth wouldn't open. She knew that it wanted this. How it could want this, she didn't know. But she couldn't say it. Rose took her hand. June looked over at her. Rose gave her a shaky nod. June looked back at the Dalek. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, do it."

"Are you frightened, June Harlow, Rose Tyler?" the Dalek asked.

"Yeah," Rose muttered.

June just nodded.

"So am I," the Dalek said. "Exterminate." And it closed its eye.

Rose pulled June away as the armor began to close around the Dalek. They ran across the hall with shaking legs and heavy eyes. They stood with an utterly stunned Doctor who didn't seem to be processing anything in front of him.

The Dalek rose into the air. The balls from its shell came around and formed an electrical blue shield around it. There was a loud bang, a bright light, and then everything disappeared. It almost looked like there had never been a Dalek there in the first place.

They all stood silently. June sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I don't feel good," she said. "Let's go." She took the gun from the Doctor's hand. She nearly dropped it, but quickly got a good hold on it and tossed it down the hallway. "Don't need that." She took his hand instead.

 **~*O*~**

I was a long, quiet walk back to the TARDIS. June kept glancing up at the Doctor. He still seemed lost or in the middle of processing everything. June stopped walking. "Rose," she said, "walk ahead of us a bit."

The blonde girl looked between the two of them with narrow eyes. After a pause, she said, "Alright." She left them, going down the next flight of stairs and disappearing around the corner.

The Doctor turned to June, "I'm not really in the mood—"

She hugged him. His words fell before he could finish them. He hugged her back, very aware of her head on his shoulder and her soft breathing in his ear. He heard her almost chuckle. "Did you think I was going to yell at you?"

"I wouldn't've been surprised," he admitted.

"As much as I hate the way today played out," she said, "I can't blame you for reacting the way you did. You just—" she paused, "need someone to remind you how good you can be." She pulled out of the hug and smiled at him. She took his hand once again and gave it a tight squeeze. "Come on." She turned the other way and began to walk down the stairs, pulling him along with her.

The Doctor smiled at the back of the brunette's head. Oh, how thankful he was for June Harlow.

 **~*O*~  
** "A little piece of home." The Doctor patted the side of the TARDIS. "Better than nothing." June smiled softly at him.

"Is that the end of it, the Time War?" Rose asked.

"I'm the only one left. I win." He seemed so tired of it. "How about that?" June didn't exactly know what to say to him. She wanted to, but how could she reply to that?

"The Dalek survived," Rose said. "Maybe some of your people did too."

"I'd know," the Doctor said. "In here." He tapped the side of his head. "Feels like there's no one."

"You're not alone," June said, taking his hand again. "You've still got us. And I'm not planning on leaving any time soon." She looked back at Rose. "Are you?" She already knew the answer.

Rose shook her head. "Nope."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah."

Adam jogged up to them, interrupting the moment June thought had been going quite well. He carried a large duffle bag in his hand and seemed out of breath. "We better get out," he said. "Van Statten's disappeared." Right. He just vanished. "They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement, like it never existed."

"About time," Rose scoffed.

"I'll have to go back home," Adam said. God, what was he playing at?

"Better hurry up then," the Doctor said. "Next flight to Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours."

"Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars," Rose told the Doctor, smiling hopefully. Great, she was playing at it too.

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then," the Doctor said.

"He's all on his own, Doctor, and he did help," Rose pouted.

"He left June down there," he argued. "Almost left you too."

"So, did you," Rose shot back.

"Guys," June complained.

Adam looked between all them. "What're you talking about?" he asked. "We've got to leave."

"Plus, he's a bit pretty," the Doctor noted. June looked at Adam. He wasn't _that_ pretty. Much more Rose's type than hers.

"I hadn't noticed," Rose said.

June snickered. "Sure, you hadn't."

The Doctor looked down at her. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," June said. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, you mean about—yeah, I really don't care." She didn't know Adam well enough to like or dislike him. She wasn't for him joining them, but she wasn't fully against it.

The Doctor shrugged, looked at Rose, and said, "On your own head." He turned and began to unlock the TARDIS.  
"What're you doing?" Adam asked. "She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in." They walked inside the TARDIS, Adam reluctantly watching after them. He really had no idea what he was about to get into.

* * *

 **And there's Dalek wrapped up. I think the ending is a little awkward. What did you guys think of the chapter?**

 **I will be back soon with part one of the Long Game**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	20. The Long Game (Part 1)

**So... I'm back**

 **It's been a pretty intense month for me. Like, incredibly intense. My whole life basically just got flipped on it's head. But I'm back! And yes, I've been watching series 11. And tbh, as much as I think Jodie makes a good Doctor, I'm not impressed with the episodes. But whatever. You're not here to hear my opinion on series 11, you're here to read about June. So I won't keep you any longer.**

 **Happy Reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20**

 **The Long Game part 1**

They were in a large room that screamed the early 2000's image of the future. The Doctor analyzed everything right from where he stood and began to spit out information. "So, it's two hundred thousand, and it's a spaceship," he told Rose. June leaned against the doors and watched his face morph as he made a correction. "No, wait a minute, space station, and er, go and try that gate over there." He pointed to a metal gate in the distance. "Off you go." He crossed his arms and leaned against the TARDIS next to June.

"Two hundred thousand?" Rose asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Two hundred thousand."

"Right." Rose turned and opened the TARDIS door. "Adam? Out you come."

Adam stepped put of the TARDIS and the dopiest look of shock appeared on his face. "Oh my god," he gasped. June couldn't help but snicker a little.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Rose told him, grinning.

"You seem like you're feeling better," the Doctor whispered to the brunette.

June looked up at him and smiled softly. "Yeah, yeah I really am."

"All thanks to me," he grinned. The TARDIS had many cures stored in the med bay. A cure for the common cold, a cure for any sort of poison, cures for a large amount of venomous alien bites, and a cure for the stomach flu. One quick gulp of a thick, green, bubbling liquid that tasted as flavorful as water and an hour-long nap later, June felt as good as new.

"Where are we?" Adam gaped.

June shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Don't give yourself too much credit."

"Good question," Rose said. "Let's see. So, er, judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year two hundred thousand. If you listen… engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah," she nodded, "definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here. They could turn the heating down. Tell you what—let's try that gate. Come on!" She ran towards the gate. Adam just stood there, slowly blinking and unable to say anything. "Come on!" Rose called again, glancing over her shoulder at him. Adam quickly followed after her.

June and the Doctor followed, letting Rose lead the way. "She's good," June laughed

"I'm a good teacher," the Doctor said.

"Sure," she said. "If someone wants to learn how to sound like they have a massive ego, you're the best teacher around." He shot her a look and she snickered.

Rose pushed the creaking metal gate aside. A staircase was stuck in the dark small hallway in front of them, leading upwards into a different room. She grabbed the railing and hauled herself up, Adam following carefully behind her. June and the Doctor exchanged curious looks and followed the duo.

"Here we go!" Rose exclaimed. "And this is—" her words fell and she wandered across the room. "—I'll let the Doctor explain it."

They were in another dark observation room. Outside the large window, the Earth curved and shone. June smiled, her mouth slightly agape. No matter how many times she saw it, a view like that still stunned her.

"The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire," the Doctor explained. "And there it is, planet Earth at it's height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle." Even with all the trouble humans could cause, June felt pretty proud of them.

And then Adam collapsed on the floor. June spun around and stared at him. "Oh my god."

"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor told Rose.

Rose shook her head and smirked. "Not anymore."

"Guys, he's passed out." June knelt down to try to wake him up.

 **~*O*~**

The chatter of civilization got louder and louder as the group of four roamed through the space station. The Doctor rambled on to a now conscious Adam, his arm balanced on June's shoulder, guiding everyone forward. "Come on, Adam. Open your mind," he said. "You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners—"

"Out of the way!" A man on a bike sped past them.

They had walked into what reminded June of a mall's food court. People bustled around, chattering and laughing. Food carts opened up out of nowhere and handed fast food out to the people standing in the long lines in front of them. Rose wandered away and looked closer at one of the food carts. "Fine cuisine?" she asked.

"My watch must be wrong." The Doctor glanced down at his watch and frowned. "No, it's fine. It's weird."

"That's what comes of showing off," Rose said. "Your history's not as good as you thought it was."

"My history's perfect," the Doctor argued.

Rose shook her head. "Well, obviously not."

"You're one to know about showing off," June reminded her, nodding her head. She turned to the Doctor. "And if your history is as perfect as you claim, what's going on with all this?" It looked nothing like the utopia he had described.

The Doctor shook his head. "I dunno."

"They're all human," Adam said. He had walked further into the busy group of people. "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"

"Good question," the Doctor said. "Actually, that is a good question." He suddenly perked up, clearly putting on a front. "Adam, me old mate," he wrapped an arm around the boy, "you must be starving."

"No," Adam said, "I'm just a bit time sick."

"No, you just need a bit of grub," the Doctor insisted. June raised her eyebrow at him as he dragged Adam up to one of the food stands. "Oi, mate—how much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the chef grumbled. "Now join the queue."

"Money," the Doctor said. "We need money." He bounded away, leaving everyone to follow after him. "Let's use a cashpoint." He walked right up to what June could only describe as a space ATM and began to sonic it.

"So, you're stealing money now?" June asked, crossing her arms.

"What they don't know won't hurt them," the Doctor said.

"What _who_ don't know?" she asked.

He quickly pulled a long, oval shaped card out of the machine and handed it to Adam. "There you go, pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets." He took June's hand and began to walk away, pulling her along with him.

"How does it work?" Adam asked.

The Doctor spun around. "Go and find out. Stop nagging me. The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers." June laughed at the thought. "Or is that just me?" Of course, it was just him. No one could travel like he did. "Stop asking questions, go and do it." Adam nodded and walked off. "Off you go, then," he told Rose, urging her to go after the boy. "Your first date." June snickered.

"You're going to get a smack, you are," Rose retorted. "You two look after each other."

"Of course," June nodded. Rose turned and disappeared after Adam.

June looked up at the Doctor and watched the large grin slide off his face. "So," she said, "now that you've gotten rid of them," for reasons she didn't know, "what are _we_ going to go do?"

"You and I, June Bug, are going to snoop around." He spun her around and pulled her along behind him.

June picked up the pace to catch up with him. "What did you call me?"

"June Bug," he said as if he had been calling her that for forever.

"Why?"

He grinned at her. "I gave you a nickname."

"Again, why?"

"Why not?"

June gaped at him and shook her head. The Doctor looked away from her, a large smile still on his face. "Right then, June Bug, where do you think we should start?"

June shook her head. It was a ridiculous nickname. "I guess we could talk to someone. I don't know."

"Good idea."

The Doctor approached the first two people he spotted. Two young women standing to the side of the crowd, chatting to each other in soft tones, and ultimately minding their own business. The Doctor took this lack of activity as a go ahead. "Er, this is going to sound daft," he started, catching their attentions, "but can you tell me where we are?"

The women stared wide eyed at them, both completely baffled. One of the women, a tall, dark-skinned brunette, pointed somewhere off in the distance behind them. "Floor One Three Nine. Could they write it any bigger?" June looked over her shoulder and sure enough, there was a large sign that read, " _Floor 193_." She sighed. They must've looked stupid.

"Floor one three nine of what?" the Doctor asked.

The brunette narrowed her eyes and shot looks between the two. June forced a smile which made the brunette frown and look away from her. She focused back on the Doctor. "Must've been a hell of a party."

"You're on Satellite Five," the other woman said. She looked like one of those girls whose sweetness could strike someone down. Her voice fitted the profile, light and airy, not sassy and suspicious like the brunette's.

"What's Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked.

"Come on," the brunette sighed, "how could you get on board without knowing where you are?"

"Look at me. I'm stupid," the Doctor grinned. June snickered. "She's not quite as stupid," he rambled on, nodding at her. "Just more lost and out of it." June frowned at him.

"Hold on, wait a minute. Are you a test?" the sweet one asked. "Some sort of management test kind of thing?"

"You've got us," the Doctor lied. June quickly nodded along in agreement. "Well done. You're too clever for me." He held the psychic paper up to the women.

The sweet one's eyes went wide and she turned to the brunette. "We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion."

The brunette nodded and turned stiffly to the Doctor and June. "Right, fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to floor five hundred I'll do anything."

"Why, what's floor five hundred?" the Doctor asked.

"The walls are made of gold," the brunette said. "And you should know, Mr. and Miss Management." She smiled an obviously forced sweet smile. "So, this is what we do." She led them towards a large wall with dozens of TVs imbedded in the steel. The sweet one gave them a nervous smile and scrambled on after her coworker.

"Latest news," the brunette began, "sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy-seven closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant." She didn't even have to look back at the screens to know what was displayed on each of them. It was like the news had been beamed into her head.

The Doctor nodded. "I get it. You broadcast the news."

The brunette crossed her arms. "We are the news," she corrected. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. Six hundred channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going through us."

Satellite Five wasn't just a news station, it was its own city. There were hundreds of employees piled into the station along with hundreds of more employees that did jobs to help out all the news employees. They might as well just have kept all of it on Earth.

The Doctor continued to chatter on to the two women, and besides listening long enough to learn the names of the two women, June decided to focus on other things. She scanned the crowds of Satellite Five. And oddly enough, she noticed that not one single person had their nose stuck in their phone. No phones and old-fashioned news with a futuristic twist, but no social media. Satellite Five almost seemed cut off from the world. They just dealt out the news, never participated with it. It all felt wrong to her.

Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded and all at once, like clockwork, the crowds stopped. Everyone picked up their things and began to disperse behind giant doors. "What's going on?" June asked, raising her voice so it had a fighting chance against the alarm.

"That's the alarm telling us to get back to work," Cathica explained.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted somewhere across the room. "Mutt and Jeff!" June looked over her shoulder and spotted Rose and Adam sitting together at a lunch table, both slightly alarmed and confused. "Over here!"

Rose grinned, grabbed her drink, and jogged over to join the group. But Adam hesitated. He just stared down at the table, like he was stuck.

"Hello, you two," Rose greeted cheerily. "Have fun without us?"

"What's he doing?" the Doctor wondered aloud, eyes on Adam.

"What'd you get to drink?" June asked, deciding to ignore Adam's off-ness.

Rose shrugged. "Dunno actually. Something that tastes like beef."

June cringed. "Sounds gross."

"It's actually not bad," Rose admitted. "Could be better."

Adam joined them a second later. He seemed a little lost. More than he had been when they had left him and Rose. The Doctor greeted Adam with a clap on the shoulder and the question, "How was the food?"

Adam nodded rather weakly. "It was alright."

"Now that you've got your team together, we can head off to the news room," Cathica said. "Just follow me."

 **~*O*~**

They stepped into this blindingly clean room, pure white and shining. A chair that almost looked like a dentist chair sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by a large circular desk. Other employees, including Suki, sat around the desk in front of these large bumps with hand prints pressed into them. A huge, bright, circular light with too much wiring and mechanics hung dangerously close to the dentist chair. It almost looked like it was about to fall. Cathica left the Doctor, June, Rose, and Adam behind safety rails that didn't look like they could protect them from anything that went wrong. She stood next to the chair and spoke to her coworkers. "Now, everyone, behave. We have a management inspection." She looked over at the Doctor. "How do you want it, by the book?"

The Doctor nodded. "Right from scratch, thanks."

"Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided, or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni." She glanced back at the Doctor. "That's Cathica with a C, in case you want to write to floor five hundred praising me, and please do." She forced a smile. "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy." She sent another dazzling yet obviously forced smile to the group she thought was the management team.

"Actually, it's the law," Suki piped up.

Cathica's voice turned harsh. "Yes, thank you, Suki." She straightened and settled down into the chair. "Okay, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go. And engage safety." Every reporter around the desk held their hands up, completely in synch. Bright lights clicked on behind the walls. Cathica snapped her fingers. Something in her forehead opened, and her brain sat, exposed. An almost visible wave of confusion and shock went through the group, but everyone else thought it was completely normal. Everyone lowered their hands into their molds. "And three, two, and spike." A harsh blue beam of light shot from the bulb in the ceiling and connected to Cathica's brain.

"Um, what?" June turned to the Doctor. He didn't say anything. His narrow eyes were trained on the scene in front of them, but June couldn't read what he was thinking.

"Compressed information, streaming into her," the Doctor said. "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer." June ran her hand across her own forehead to stop the faint feeling of something embedded inside.

"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius," Rose said.

The Doctor shook his head. "Nah," he started to walk around the safety rail, "she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head'd blow up." Rose followed after him. June felt perfectly fine observing from behind the railing. "The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."

"So, what about all these people around the edge?" Rose asked.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place." He leaned against the safety rail. "Now that's what I call power." Rose squatted between two reporters in the circle, looking between them.

June leaned forward and looked over at the Doctor. "There's got to be a more convenient way of doing all of this, right? Seems like a lot of trouble."

The Doctor nodded. "There is. I dunno know why they're still doing this."

Rose joined them at the safety rail again. "You all right?" she asked Adam, who seemed completely shocked but what else was new?

"I can see her brain," Adam muttered.

"Do you want to get out?" Rose asked.

Adam shook his head. "No. No, this technology, it's amazing."

"This technology's wrong," the Doctor said.

"And let me guess," June said, "you want to sort it all out." She raised her eyebrows at him.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, yeah."

Suki suddenly recoiled away from the controls, grabbing at her hands. The whole operation shut off. Everyone else seemed dazed and not quite sure of anything. And as soon as Cathica's head closed, she turned on Suki. "Come off it, Suki," she snapped. "I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?"

"Sorry," Suki murmured into her hands. "It must've been a glitch." Cathica sighed, rolled her eyes, and got up from the chair.

"Promotion," an electronic voice announced through the room. A blue screen appeared on the back wall.

"Come on," Cathica muttered, clenching her fists. "This is it. Come on. Oh god, make it me. Come on, say my name, say my name, say my name."

"She really wants that promotion," June whispered to the Doctor.

He nodded. "No kidding."

"Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell." Her name appeared on the blue screen. "Please proceed to floor five hundred." June tilted her head. They made Suki mess up the reporting process just to give her a promotion?

Suki gasped, wandering towards the screen. "I don't believe it. Floor five hundred."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica asked. "I'm above you."

"I don't know," Suki said. "I just applied on the off chance and they've said yes."

"That's so not fair," Cathica grumbled. "I've been applying to floor five hundred for three years."

"What's floor five hundred?" Rose asked.

The Doctor seemed just as suspicious about the whole situation. "The walls are made of gold."

 **~*O*~**

"Cathica, I'm going to miss you," Suki said, grinning from ear to ear, gripping her luggage in her hands. Cathica rolled her eyes. Suki turned to the Doctor. "Floor five hundred, thank you."

"I didn't do anything," the Doctor said.

"Well, you're my lucky charm," Suki told him. June stood awkwardly with her hands shoved in her pockets. She didn't know if either Suki or Cathica even noticed that she was there in the first place.

The Doctor shrugged. "All right. I'll hug anyone." Suki giggled and hugged the Doctor. June rolled her eyes. He liked the attention whether he would admit it or not.

A weight shifted in the corner of her eye and June turned. Rose had walked away towards an utterly stunned Adam who still seemed like he was coping. He had been basically silent, well, the whole time, but even more after the whole brain display. It was almost like he was scared. She supposed that she couldn't exactly blame him for that.

Suki and the Doctor made small talk and Cathica stood with her arms crossed looking particularly annoyed with the whole situation. June hung next to the Doctor, occasionally looking over her shoulder to glance at Adam and Rose. She stood out among all of them. They were all talking to one another and the only other silent one, Cathica, belonged on Satellite Five.

And then the familiar computer voice spoke over the speakers, "All staff are reminded that the sixteen forty break session has been shortened by ten minutes. Thank you." Rose joined the group again with that wide smile of hers and when June looked over her shoulder, Adam was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my god!" Suki exclaimed. "I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry." She ran towards the opened elevator doors and turned back to look at them. "Say goodbye to Steve for me. Bye!" and the harsh metal doors closed on her.

While the Doctor and Rose gave polite little waves and June smiled at the excited woman, Cathica scoffed. "Good riddance." June almost wanted to tell her off for being rude.

"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor said. "She's only going upstairs."

Cathica shook her head. "We won't. Once you go to floor five hundred you never come back."

June frowned and watched the closed elevator doors. No one would ever see Suki again unless something came in and changed everything. She had a feeling that that something, or someone, had arrived.

* * *

 **So my next update is not going to be next month, I will try to update sooner. I need to get back into the grind. Again, I had a super intense month and I've been struggling with that.**

 **What did you guys think of the chapter? I'm not fond of this episode, but it does sort of prove to be important.**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	21. The Long Game (Part 2)

**Hello again!**

 **I'm back! After so long...**

 **Again, I'm sorry for the hiatus, but I'm getting back into writing everything.**

 **Today, we finish the Long Game.**

 **Happy Reading**

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

 **The Long Game part 2**

The common area was already full of different employees on their scheduled breaks, barely giving the time for the group before them to leave. They followed Cathica through the crowds. "Have you every been up there?"

"I can't," Cathica said. "You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to five hundred except for the chosen few."

"Is there like a janitor we can talk to that has access to floor five hundred?" June asked. She could see a smile on the Doctor's face out of the corner of her eye. She attempted to stifle a smile of her own.

Cathica laughed. "Are you kidding? This place is too large for only a few janitors to keep it clean. Each floor has its own."

June tutted and snapped her fingers. "Damn."

"You gave it a shot," the Doctor said.

 **~*O*~**

They walked back into the now empty newsroom. "Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?" Cathica asked.

The Doctor ignored her. "But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" He sat in the dentist like chair she had been sitting in earlier. June leaned against the side, very aware of all of the equipment around her and all of the ways that it could break.

"I went to floor sixteen when I first arrived." Cathica seemed more interested in checking off the things on her clipboard than answering the Doctor's prying questions. "That's medical. That's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor." She crouched down to look at some of the equipment. "That's it, that's all." She paused for a moment and then stood up. "You're not management, are you?"

The Doctor kept pressing buttons on the chair. "At last. She's clever."

"Be nice," June whispered. He ignored her.

Cathica stared at the three of them for a moment. "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me." She walked around the room, staring anywhere but at them. "I don't know anything."

"Don't you even ask?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, why would I?" she kept staring down at her clipboard.

"You're a journalist," the Doctor said. She looked at him for a moment. He quickly moved on. "Why's all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" she asked.

"There's no aliens on board. Why?"

"Well, there's not _no_ ," June added in a whisper so small that only the Doctor could hear her probably due to his dumbo ears or something. He gave her a look. Rose stared at her in confusion, wondering if she had heard whispering or not.

"I don't know," Cathica said. "No real reason. They're not banned or anything."

"Then where are they?" the Doctor asked.

Cathica shrugged. "I suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what with all the threats."

"What threats?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know, all of them," Cathica said, her body stiff. "Usual stuff." She froze when she looked at the three strangers, not from management, judging her. June could see the anxiety in her eyes. The Doctor could be intimidating sometimes, she knew that. No one wanted to disappoint him. It was an odd spell he put on people without really realizing it. And Rose was giving her this puzzled look. Like one of those looks that you got from a teacher when you're trying to ramble out an answer but you don't know what you're talking about and the teacher knows you don't know what you're talking about. June tried her best to seem as unjudgmental as possible but she wasn't sure if she could fix anything. Cathica straightened and went into a sort of recovery mode. "And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons, that's all." She began to walk away.

"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor said.

Cathica stopped and turned towards him. "Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."

"I can see better," the Doctor said. "This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."

"It's cutting edge," Cathica argued.

"It's backwards," he corrected. "There's a great big door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago." Cathica stared down at the ground.

June leaned close to the Doctor and whispered, "You're making her feel bad." He looked back at her and opened his mouth, but she quickly continued. "It's not her fault."

"I know," he whispered back. June was sure he did, but she hated treating ignorance as part of the problem.

"So, what do you think's going on?" Rose asked.

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude," the Doctor said. "It's the way people think. The great and bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?" Cathica challenged.

"Trust me," the Doctor said, "humanity's been set back about ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"

Cathica stopped in place. "Ninety-one years ago."

 **~*O*~**

The next step, of course, with a situation like the one they found themselves in, was to go snooping around places that they shouldn't be snooping. Places where if they were caught, they'd most likely go to jail, well, space jail. Rose looked over the Doctor's shoulder while he unlocked a metal door with the sonic screwdriver. June leaned against the wall, watching in the direction they had come from for anyone who might ruin the investigation.

Cathica still hovered around them. June sort of wondered why she was still there. It had to be something doing with being a journalist. But she shifting from foot to foot and wrung her hands together, glancing over her shoulder. "We are so going to get in trouble," she said. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe. You're going to get told off."

"Rose, tell her to button it," the Doctor said. Rose did not tell her to button it.

"You can't just vandalize the place," Cathica shot quietly. "Someone's going to notice!"

And just then, the door to the mainframe swung open, giving the Doctor access inside the controls.

He seemed to be having fun, sonicing everything and pulling wires and wires out, making things spark and sputter. Rose and June were trying to untangle masses of wires and find where they were connected to, or really just make any progress at all considering neither of them really knew what they were doing.

Cathica seemed like she finally had enough. "This is nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work." She stormed off.

"Go on, then. See you!" the Doctor called.

She stormed right back over to them. "I can't just leave you, can I?"

"If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down," Rose said. "It's boiling."

June shrugged. "Yeah, it kinda is. It's not horrible, but…."

"No, it is pretty horrible," Rose argued. "How're you not dying?"

"I'm not wearing a jacket I can't change out of," June said.

"Fair point," Rose said. "But what's wrong with this place? Can't they do something about it?"

Cathica shook her head. "I don't know. We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine."

"Something to do with the turbine," the Doctor mocked.

"You're being rude again," June shot at him.

"Well, I don't know!" Cathica cried.

The Doctor turned to her. "Exactly. I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose. Look at Rose. Rose is asking the right kind of question."

Rose grinned. "Oh, thank you." June gave her a mini applause and Rose mocked a curtsy.

"Why is it so hot?" the Doctor asked.

"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" Cathica sighed.

The Doctor turned back to his work. "Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important." He pulled out a clump of wires that used to be attached to something, but now just sparked in his hand. He smiled nervously. Cathica looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

And the Doctor kept working and working and working and telling June and Rose what to do so they could all continue to work and June was getting very tired and began to crave a soda. Something about the sizzle and pop from opening and can or a bottle. She wondered if there was a vending machine around.

But just as her mind got distracted, it was forced to snap back into focus as the Doctor pulled a screen from the mass of wires. And on it stood graphics of Satellite Five's blue prints. "Here we go," the Doctor announced. "Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout."

Cathica gaped and walked up to the screen. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong," the Doctor said.

"I suppose," Cathica nodded.

"Didn't we already establish this?" June asked, looking between them.

"Why, what is it?" Rose asked.

"The ventilation system," Cathica said. "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channeling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top," the Doctor said.

"Floor Five hundred," Rose said.

"Really?" June gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "The one mysterious floor that's been suspicious the whole time we've been here? There's something going on up there? No way!"

"Tone down the sass, June Bug," the Doctor said. June rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, but the Doctor quickly interrupted her. "Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party," Rose said. "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

"Okay, we were obviously going to go up there next," June said.

"You can't," Cathica told them. "You need a key."

"Keys are just codes, and I've got the codes right here." The Doctor did something to the wires and grabbed the screen.

"There are more types of keys than just code keys, though," June said.

"Well, yes, but we're talking about code keys," the Doctor told her. "And here we go. Override two one five point nine."

"How come it's given you the code?" Cathica asked.

The Doctor looked up. "Someone up there likes me."

June sighed. "Oh, that's never good."

 **~*O*~**

"Come on," Rose called to Cathica as she stepped inside the elevator. "Come with us."

Cathica scoffed. "No way."

The Doctor grinned. "Bye!" he waved at her. June rolled her eyes.

"Well, don't mention my name," she said. "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me." And she stormed away. And this time, she didn't come back.

"That's her gone. Adam's given up. Looks like it's just us three," the Doctor said, glancing at the girls.

"Yeah," Rose said.

June nodded. "Yep."

The Doctor smiled. "Good."

June felt herself smile when she met eyes with the Doctor. "Very."

"Yep," Rose agreed.

He slipped a card into the wall and took June's hand as the elevator doors closed.

 **~*O*~**

Floor Five Hundred was both nothing similar to what had been described and exactly what June had been expecting to walk into. It was about as beautiful as a sewer and as warm as a freezer. She hugged herself but it didn't stop the shivering.

The Doctor stepped out before them and glanced around. "The walls are not made of gold. You two should go back downstairs."

"Tough," Rose said.

June shook her head and began to rummage through her backpack. "Yeah, that's not happening. Where is—" her words turned into quiet angry grumbles through frozen lips. She remembered leaving her jacket on her bed, which meant that it wasn't in her backpack. She swore to herself.

And then some sort of heavy cloth dropped over her head and she couldn't see anything. She pulled away the blindfold to see the Doctor jacketless and that was when she realized what she had in her hands. "I'd rather not listen to your teeth chattering the whole time we're here," he said.

"But—?"

"Would you rather be cold, June?"

June narrowed her eyes at him and slipped into his jacket. The whole thing was long and heavy. Ridiculously heavy actually. She threw her backpack back on and curled the extra sleeve fabric around her hands. The Doctor was already off walking further into floor Five Hundred. Rose followed after him, giving June a nudge, and a playful look over her shoulder.

As they walked, June wondered if the jacket smelled like him or if he smelled like the jacket. Because there was this very particular smell that she was sure no one else would be able to pick up on unless they spent most of their time next to the Doctor. And she couldn't exactly place it or give it any similarities. And she knew that she couldn't be focused on it because they were walking further and further into what was obviously danger.

They stepped up a metal staircase into a metal room and at last, there was life. Or at least it seemed like there was life. A man stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a suit, looking a bit like that guy from that zombie movie June had seen and a lot like a live action Jack Frost. And he grinned at them merrily and said, "I started without you."

What was more alarming however, was the row of people, who all looked too still and empty to be alive, working the controls in front of him. They were all sightless and staring and working. All covered with a thin layer of frost tangled in hair and in clothes, eyelashes, on noses. They seemed more like mannequins than living people.

"This is fascinating," the man continued. "Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three, you don't exist. Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss." June wondered if that was the sort of thing they could now track in the whatever-th century. "How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"

"Magic," June breathed.

"What was that?" the man asked. June looked at him as if she had said nothing at all and had no idea why he was talking to her.

"Suki," Rose gasped. She raced across the room to one of the still people working the controls. "Suki! Hello?" The girl she knelt down next to was in fact, Suki, just absent. It was Suki's body, but it was like Suki wasn't there. June hated to realize what that meant. "Can you hear me? Suki? What have you done to her?"

"I think she's dead," the Doctor said.

"I think they all are," June added.

"She's working," Rose said, looking around, completely puzzled.

"They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going, like puppets," the Doctor explained.

"Oh!" the man beamed. Usually beaming was warm. His wasn't. "You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one." He laughed. "It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," the Doctor said, "because we're off. Nice to meet you." He looked at Rose. "Come on."

He took June's arm since her hand was still curled in the fabric of his jacket and turned around. But they were grabbed by two living corpses of what June assumed were previous employees. They pulled June and the Doctor apart and turned them back around, holding them tight despite the struggles. Suki's arm had clasped onto Rose and she was struggling to free herself.

"Tell me who you are," the man demanded.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to say, am I?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise," the man said.

"Doubtful," June grumbled.

"And who's that?" the Doctor asked.

The man wavered for a moment and then leaned closer to the Doctor, his voice dropping. "It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact," he began to laugh, "it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live." And in response to this, loud, monstrous growls, snarls, and barks echoed from the ceiling. The man stopped to listen, nodding along. "Yeah." He nodded more. "Yeah, sorry." He readjusted himself and then turned back to the Doctor. "It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." He pointed up.

On the ceiling hung, what could only be described as a large flesh mound with teeth. It snarled and growled, but remained completely immobile, stuck to the spot. It was disgusting, roaring, and shiny with ooze or sweat or something.

"Ew, what?" June gasped. She wanted to look away, but kept staring at it.

"What is that?" Rose asked.

"You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked, although it sounded more like a confirmation.

"That _thing_ , as you put it, is in charge of the human race."

June couldn't stop herself from snickering. "Yeah, right." A flesh wad did not control humanity. It couldn't.

The man gave her a cold look and then turned back to the Doctor. "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max." The Doctor gave him one of those smiles which wasn't really a smile, but more of a bitter, _'good for you'_ smile.

 **~*O*~**

In the far future, June thought that handcuffs or items similar would be simple, small, maybe purely technological or made of just painful lasers or something. But no. She, the Doctor, and Rose were all strapped into heavy black cuffs attached to a heavy black post that had to be wheeled around and stuck to the ground. It was incredibly inconvenient and yet, there they were.

The man was going off on explanations, similar to what the Doctor did, just evil and somehow more boring. It was difficult to listen to someone when you wanted to punch them for imprisoning you. "Create a climate of fear and it's easy to keep the boarders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote." They were scaring, manipulating humans into submission.

"So, all the people on Earth are like, slaves," Rose guessed.

"Well, now there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?" the man asked.

June nodded and the Doctor plainly said, "Yes."

"Oh," the man sighed. "I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm gonna get? Yes?" he mocked.

"Yes," the Doctor said.

The man shook his head. "You're no fun."

"Let me out of these manacles. You'll find out how much fun I am," the Doctor threatened.

"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" he laughed. "But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."

"You can't hide something on this scale," Rose said. "Somebody must have noticed."

The man nodded. "From time to time, someone, yes, but the computer chip system allows me to see inside of their brains. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of Earth like they're so individual, when of course, they're not. They're just cattle."

"Or then end up here," June added, looking at the team of the dead.

The man smiled. "Exactly. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."

"What about you? You're not a Jagrabelly…," she stumbled over the word.

"He just said it," June told her.

"Jagrafess," the Doctor corrected.

"Jagrafess," Rose said. "You're not a Jagrafess. You're human."

"Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well," the man said.

June shrugged. "Fair enough. But that still doesn't explain everything."

"You couldn't have done this all on your own," Rose said.

The man laughed. "No. I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself."

"No wonder, a creature that size," the Doctor said, gazing up at it. "What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years," the man said. June whistled. It felt too long to be alive.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat," the Doctor said. "That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system."

"But that's why you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown." The man laughed and snapped his fingers. All of the sudden something that felt like lightning coursed through June's body. "Who are you?" Everything in her body was tense and being shocked without the layer of skin to protect it. Her bones and muscles were being pulled at and shocked. She tried her best not to cry out in pain by keeping her mouth clamped shut, but it didn't work all that well. And then he snapped his fingers again and her entire body relaxed.

"Leave them alone," the Doctor begged. "I'm the Doctor, she's June Harlow, and that one's Rose Tyler. We're nothing, we're just wandering."

"Tell me who you are!" the man demanded, hands clasped tightly together.

"I just said!" the Doctor yelled.

"Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly—" and then he stopped. He paused and then grinned at the Doctor. "Time Lord."

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, yes," he continued. "The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girls from long ago." He reached out to stroke Rose's cheek, but she flinched away and June made a rough attempt at kicking his leg.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor told him.

"Time Travel," he said.

"Bullshit," June spat. She really did have no idea why they were playing dumb, but she played along because she knew it would be stupid to do otherwise.

"Someone's been telling you lies," the Doctor said.

The man tutted. "Young master Adam Mitchell?" He snapped his fingers and turned around.

A screen showed up in front of them, like a projector, showing Adam. He was sitting in an empty newsroom, in the large center chair, with a hole in his brain getting information sucked right out of it. June's jaw nearly fell on the floor. "Holy shit."

"Oh my god," Rose gasped. "His head!"

"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor wondered aloud. "What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything."

June shook her head. "Stupid."

"And through him, I know everything about you," the man said. "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. TARDIS."

"Well, you'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first," he snapped.

The man shrugged. "Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key."

And from Adam's pocket rose the TARDIS key. "Oh, come on!" June groaned.

"You and your boyfriends!" the Doctor snapped at Rose.

"Today, _we_ are the headlines," the man said. "We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."

"But why?" June asked.

The man laughed. "Why not?"

"And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold," the Doctor snapped.

The Jagrafess made a mess of snarling and growling, thrashing around, roaring. It was kind of annoying. And then a loud beeping came from one of the various machines the corpses were controlling. The man rushed over and shoved his way to the front. "What's happening? Someone's disengaged the safety." He snapped his fingers and a different picture popped up. "Who's that?"

It was Cathica sitting in a defunct broadcast room, light streaming into her head. She had stopped it somehow. June grinned and whooped. "Hell yeah!"

"It's Cathica," Rose grinned.

"And she's thinking," the Doctor said. "She's using what she knows."

"Terminate her access," the man demanded.

"Everything I told her about Satellite Five," the Doctor continued. "The pipes, the filters, she's reversing it. Look at that. It's getting hot." And it was. Everything was becoming water, falling down towards the floor as it could no longer sustain its life up on the ceiling. June figured that those weren't the only thing that couldn't survive.

"I said, terminate," the man demanded. "Burn out her mind."

And then the console exploded. The bodies flopped forward and the man was pushed back, crashing onto the floor. Alarms began to sound through the whole building and then Rose popped her cuffs off. June wiggled her wrists around and did the same. Rose began working at the Doctor's cuffs as June dug through the various pockets of his jacket, looking for the sonic screwdriver.

"She's venting the heat up here," the Doctor said. "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano."

"Yes, I'm trying, sir," the man shouted at the roaring Jagrafess. "But I don't know how she did it. It's impossible. A member of staff with an idea."

June recognized the feeling as soon as it was in her hand. "Got it!" She held up the sonic screwdriver like it was a trophy. "What now?"

"Flick the switch!" the Doctor shouted. So that's what she did. She pointed the screwdriver at the cuffs and let it buzz on until something happened. "Oi, mate, want to bank on a certainty?" he called to the man. June broke the cuffs off from around his wrists and they fell to the floor. "Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang. See you in the headlines!" And they all raced off.

She caught the Doctor's hand as they were running, dodging things falling from the ceiling. Mostly heavy shards of ice. And she didn't know how, but he knew right where to go, pulling the two girls into the news room where Cathica sat, surrounded by decaying corpses. There was a loud bang and they were safe. The Doctor snapped his fingers and the hole in Cathica's head closed. She smiled up at the three of them.

 **~*O*~**

People were injured all around floor 139. Thankfully, no one was terribly injured and there were no deaths. But now it was time for one of the only consistent things in all of their travels. "We're just going to go. I hate tidying up," the Doctor told Cathica. "Too many questions. You'll manage."

"You'll have to stay and explain it. No one's going to believe me," Cathica said.

"Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now. The human race should accelerate. All back to normal," he said.

"What about your friend?" Cathica asked. Adam stood in front of the TARDIS, looking quite guilty.

"He's not my friend." The Doctor stood up and started in that direction.

Rose attempted to call after him. "Now, don't—"

"Do you honestly think that's gonna stop him?" June asked as they followed.

"I'm alright now," Adam said, standing against the TARDIS with a nervous smile. "Much better. And I've got the key. Look, it's—" his words left him and he tried to pick them back up again. "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" The Doctor grabbed the key and Adam's shoulder. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because _you_ were in charge." The Doctor pushed Adam in the TARDIS.

June scoffed. "Oh yeah, that excuse'll work."

 **~*O*~**

"It's my house. I'm home!" They had landed in a house, nothing special about it, maybe special to Adam. "Oh, my God, I'm home! Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock."

"Is there something else you want to tell me?" the Doctor asked.

Adam shook his head. "No. What do you mean?"

The Doctor picked up the answering machine. "The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." He soniced the phone and it exploded harshly in the middle of the table. "That's it, then. See you." He started back to the TARDIS.

"How do you mean, see you?" Adam asked.

The Doctor stopped. "As in goodbye."

"But what about me?" Adam asked. "You can't just go. I've got my head. I've got a chip type two. My head opens."

"What, like this?" The Doctor snapped and Adam's forehead opened.

"Don't." The hole closed.

"Don't do what?" The Doctor nudged June, nodded towards Adam. "Go on." She snickered and snapped and the hole opened again.

"Stop it!" and it closed.

"Alright, now, Doctor, that's enough," Rose snapped. "Stop it."

"Thank you," Adam said.

Rose snapped her fingers.

"Oi!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Rose laughed. And his forehead closed again.

"The whole of history could have changed because of you," the Doctor said.

"I just wanted to help," Adam said. June snickered.

"You were helping yourself," the Doctor told him.

"And I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am," Adam insisted, "but you can't just leave me like this."

"Yes, he can," June said.

"Yes, I can," the Doctor said. "'Cause if you show that head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average, unseen. Good luck." He opened the TARDIS door.

"But I want to come with you," Adam said.

"I only take the best," the Doctor said. "I've got June and Rose." And with that, he stepped into the TARDIS.

"Bye, Adam!" June called as he begged for Rose to stay for a minute.

June took off her backpack and the Doctor's jacket. "I think this belongs to you." He smiled and took it from her, slipping it back on. "Thanks. But I think it suits you more than it suits me."

The Doctor shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. Just don't forget a jacket next time."

June nodded. "I won't."

He started up the TARDIS. The room darkened and the wheezing began. Rose stepped inside a moment later, closing the door behind her, no Adam with her. She didn't look pleased but she didn't look so disappointed either. June figured it would be best just to move on as quick as possible. "So, where to next?"

* * *

 **How'd you guys like the chapter?**

 **Next time, June visits home and we get a non episode based story.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are very much appreciated.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~ C.C.**


	22. Hidden in California

**I'm not dead I swear**

* * *

 **Chapter 22**

 **Hidden in California**

 **February 10th 2018**

"Thank you. For everything, really."

They stood on the sidewalk across the street from June's apartment. Her luggage sat on the ground. A single suit case. She was leaving more items than she had taken in the first place.

"You talk like you're never coming back," the Doctor said.

"Of course, I'm coming back," she laughed. "Can't I be grateful in the moment?"

He smiled. "Of course."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"When are you coming back?" Rose asked.

June shrugged. "A few days, maybe a week. It'll probably be different for us." She could already feel herself missing their familiarity. But she had family and friends waiting for her. And she needed to be with them more. "I'll miss you guys."

"Oh, come here." Rose pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll miss you too. Remember to call."

June laughed. "I will."

She hugged the Doctor too. His hug was tighter than usual. She didn't mind at all. "Don't stay away too long."

"I promise I won't."

June picked up her bags. "I'll be in touch. I'll tell you when I want to be picked up. And, don't have too much fun without me."

"Utterly impossible, June Bug."

She crossed the street and they called their last goodbyes to each other.

 **~*O*~**

Seeing Grace and Logan again after so long actually made June emotional. Familiarity felt warm and relaxing. She was safe and loved and face to face with her two best friends. She wasn't sure who rushed into who. If she rushed towards Grace or if Grace rushed to her. Either way they met in the middle, squeezing each other tight, grinning like utter mad men. And Grace took June's face in her hands and began to babble on about how much she had missed her and how much she had missed while she was gone and how she had to tell her everything about her traveling. She pulled her head down and planted a sloppy kiss on her forehead.

And Logan said something along the lines of, "My life was better without you." But with one of those smiles she knew so well, a smile that negated any negative meaning from the sentence.

And she replied with, "Mine too." And they hugged. Because they could annoy the hell out of each other all they wanted, but it didn't mean that they actually hated each other.

Not so long after, Parker made an appearance. And he walked right into Grace screaming over the state of June's hands. How they were all discolored and splotchy along the palms. June made up some story that wasn't, "I was helping to save a space station from the Earth burning."

Parker looked at June with this brand-new sense of pride she had never seen before in his eyes. Something about her making her own life and going out and having fun and adventures. He didn't know the extent of it. He held her hands and kissed her palms and then kissed her lips and June remembered why they had their deal. She missed the affection of love.

And as June set her things away and got prepared to go see her family, Grace asked what they would be doing for her birthday. And June told her that she just wanted to stay home, visit her parents, watch a movie maybe. Eat, get a little drunk. She just wanted to lay around the house after traveling so much. And, what she didn't tell them, is that she was already birthdayed out. First it was meeting Walt Disney, then a series of concerts which almost destroyed her eardrums, and then birthday cake and sodas on the moon, protected by the TARDIS's force field. She was happy to just laze around.

 **~*O*~**

 **February 11th 2018**

And just as June said, they just laid around all day. She had a perfectly non-exciting birthday, which June never realized she would be so thankful for. She stayed at her parents' house, surrounded by everyone who cared about her, watching movies, receiving presents, eating cake, and getting a little drunk.

She got the type of presents a twenty-three-year-old would get. Clothes and lip gloss from Grace, a mountain of candy and about five pairs of sneakers she wasn't sure what she was going to do with from Logan, records from Parker because music, and a gently used electric guitar from her parents. June named it Mae and it was gorgeous. Aubrey, her younger sister, didn't get her anything. She said 'happy birthday,' to her and gave her a hug which was good enough for June.

And June was the last one awake that night. Slightly tipsy and unable to move from the living room couch considering Parker had his arms wrapped around her so tight. Everyone had passed out. Her parents in their room, Aubrey in her room, Grace on the couch across from her, and Logan on the floor, his feet under the coffee table. The TV glowed on all of them and June felt herself smile. She had missed them. She had missed everyone so much. And surrounded by people she loved, she wondered how the Doctor couldn't be happy with a life like this, how anyone couldn't really. She managed to grab a blanket from her stuck position and laid it over her and Parker and let herself drift off to sleep.

 **~*O*~**

The days June spent at home were the most ordinary, yet entertaining days of her life. She had never really been away for long. Returning felt like the most wonderful sigh of relief. To step out onto familiar laws and spend her nights in her own bedroom again. Driving her own car where ever she wanted to go. Spending time with the people she knew best in the world.

Even the way her couch sunk when she sat was wonderful. The way her bed creaked when she turned. The smell of perfume coming from Grace's room. Plush towels and thin blankets. The ability to wake up and see her best friend standing in the kitchen, making toast or something, with sleepy eyes and a large cup of coffee. Logan's snorts and snickers while they played video games with worn controllers. How he would shove her whenever she was about to win. And just about everything about Parker. His long red hair and the small array of freckles he had on his forehead but nowhere else. The way his hand felt and his voice sounded. How she could feel his breathing while they were squished together on the couch.

And of course, just the presence of her family made every bit of tension June didn't know she had fall from her body. What was so wonderful about them was just the fact that they were her family. Her own flesh and blood. Her wisecracking mother, too loving for her own good. Her father, never worried and a little too trusting. And her little sister, the one she had helped raise, growing into that older naivety where she knew parts of the world but not most of it. She had always had such an attitude, even since she was young and she never lost it.

The universe was vast and wild. So many things to see, so many lives to cross through. But even after everything she had seen, her little corner of the universe was her favorite.

 **~*O*~**

 **February 17th 2018**

 **11:41 PM**

Cars were never meant to be driven with bare feet. But June pushed on. She weaved through the cars which still lingered on the road no matter how uncomfortable she felt.

"Um hey," Logan leaned over from the back seat and June jolted when he set his hand on her shoulder. "They're still following us."

"I know!" June yelled. "I can see them!" The three men in black which June theorized weren't men at all, but something more mechanical, were after her. She could see them speeding long after her at an inhuman speed in her rear view mirror. The night had quickly gone downhill.

"What do you need me to do?" Grace asked from the passenger's seat.

"Call the Doctor!" June yelled. She made a sharp right turn down another street. She heard a honk in the distance and swore under her breath.

"Doctor who?" Grace asked.

"Just do it!" June shouted. "He's in my contacts!"

"God, okay." Grace tapped away on June's phone.

A warm voice began to speak into her ear. "Hey, we're all gonna be okay. Calm down." June really did appreciate Parker's efforts, but it's not like he knew anything about what was really going on.

Logan laughed stiffly. "Okay? We're not gonna be okay! We're being chased by the goddamn men in black!"

"Do you want to get into an accident?" Parker snapped at him. Logan pulled a face, but stayed quiet. "Okay, so shut up."

"The Doctor?" Grace asked, staring down at the contact.

June nodded. "Yeah. And put it on speaker."

A familiar voice answered the phone, although not the one she was aiming for. "Hello?"

"Rose give the phone to the Doctor!" June shouted.

"Why, what's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Just give it to him!" She boomed. All her friends groaned. She might as well have been screaming in their ears.

A moment later, "June Bug! If you missed me you could've just—"

"We're being chased by the men in black!" June shouted.

The Doctor paused. "The men in black?" He didn't sound impressed.

"Yes!" June yelled. "Sorta. I dunno. They're not human or anything, they're chasing my car on foot, but they look like the men in black."

The Doctor took another moment. "We?"

June's attention snapped to one of the back windows rolling down. She watched Logan in the rear view mirror as he leaned out into the night and tossed something back at the three menacing men following them. "What the hell, Logan!? What was that!?"

"It did nothing!" Logan gasped.

"Logan!" June screamed.

"It was an empty soda can, calm down!" he yelled.

"Why would you do that?" Grace yelled at him.

"June!" the Doctor called over the phone.

"I wanted to see if it would do anything!"

"Are you stupid?" June shouted.

"Don't act on your bad ideas!" Grace yelled.

"June!" the Doctor called again.

"It wasn't bad!" Logan protested.

"Guys, shut up!" Parker roared. Everyone went silent. "None of this is helping."

"I see what you mean by we," the Doctor grumbled. "Why are they chasing you?"

"I dunno," June shrugged. "They just broke into my house and tried to kidnap me."

"Why?" the Doctor asked again.

"They said I was a required material, whatever that means," June said.

"Required material for what?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know!"

"Didn't you ask!?"

"They started vaporizing my furniture, no I did not!" June cleared her throat. "Okay, listen. There's this back-parking lot behind an old Angel's movie Theater, on Sunset Street. There's an alleyway between it and the Ruby's. It's 11:44 on February 17th 2018. I'm about five minutes away. Be there."

There was a deep sigh. "Alright." The wheezing of the TARDIS engine echoed from the other side of the phone.

"What's that?" Grace asked.

June shook her head. "Don't ask." She had to make a sharp left. She muttered curse words to herself as the whole car lurched and teetered on its wheels.

"Stop swearing," the Doctor ordered.

"Bite me, E.T. Grace, hang up."

 **~*O*~**

The patrons of the small bar on the corner paid no attention to the old hatchback racing down the street, kicking up pebbles from the asphalt. And they didn't see the three men chasing after it at an inhuman speed. Maybe then, they would've known that something was about to go wrong.

June yanked the steering wheel and the car lurched right down an alleyway which opened up to a parking lot. She had spent a few months in that parking lot learning how to drive. She had almost crashed into one of the streetlamps. And there was something that she had expected to be there that wasn't. It didn't belong there, but it was necessary. The TARDIS.

She parked her car and groaned, hitting her head on the headrest. "Where is he?" she complained. "Why can't he be on time for once?" she slumped down in her seat. "Stupid time travel."

"Are you high?" Logan asked.

June sat up in her seat again and looked back at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"No, I'm not high," she scoffed.

"You said time travel," he said.

"I think we have other things to deal with," Parker said, holding his hand up to cut off conversation. "Like the creepy men in black following us."

"Yeah, honestly," Grace rolled her eyes. "Who was that doctor guy you were talking to?"

June shook her head. "It's a long story. But basically, he can help." She went for her phone again and dialed the TARDIS. She stuck it to her ear. The phone rang… and rang… and rang… and rang some more, but there was eventually no answer. She could've screamed in frustration but she kept it down and dropped her phone into the empty cup holder.

"So, what do we do?" Parker asked.

June shrugged. "I don't know."

"We can't just let those things come after us."

"Yeah, I know," June snapped. She leaned back in her seat. All was quiet for a moment. She kept thinking about them sneaking up on them, pouncing, their weapons raised and ready to fire. She picked her backpack up from the ground in the back seat and began to rummage through it. She pulled out her baseball bat.

"How-?" Logan whispered.

"Again, long story," June said.

"You can't keep being vague like this," Grace told her.

"I know. Everything's just too difficult to explain now." She straightened and rolled her head across her shoulders. "I'm gonna go hold those freaks off. You guys stay in here." Immediately, protests. Loud arguments coming from all three of them. June raised her hands. "Guys, guys—" they still all talked away, "GUYS!" They fell silent. "Listen, those things are after me. They won't hurt you if they get to me first. And they need me for something so there's a chance I won't end up hurt at all. It'll be fine. This is the safest way."

"It's still stupid," Logan muttered.

Parker was silent. He kept his eyes on her. They were weary and nervous, but not outwardly rejecting. He knew she had some sort of logic to her plan, no matter how he hated it.

"Not happening," Grace said. "Whatever happens, I will be by your side."

"Not this time," June told her. "This time, you've got to listen to me. I'll be fine. It'll be fine. The Doctor will get here soon. I can hold off a few robots for a few minutes."

"Oh, no, no, n—"

June rolled out of the car before there could be anymore arguing. "Bye. Stay in the car. I'll be fine. Don't come after me until the Doctor gets here."

She jogged away as fast as she could on the asphalt in bare feet. Every time there was a pebble, she winced. She knew the odds were against her.

The men in black were already waiting in the alleyway when she reappeared there. She could see their identical outlines. "You will come with us," the chorused.

June shook her head. "Nah.

They began to move closer. And although she knew it wouldn't be the best idea, her legs carried her closer to them. They stopped in front of each other. Their faces were so still. "You will come with us."

"Again," June said, "no. And you better get out of here before my backup arrives or else, you're really gonna have a bad time.

June should've known what ran by her in that moment. She could tell by the hair and the height and the sound of frustration coming from her mouth. But her brain wasn't that fast. And Grace had already pushed one of the robots over.

"Grace!"

"Too bad!" she shouted. She turned on the robots. "Now leave us alone!"

"That's not gonna—" she groaned and hit one of the robots over the head with her baseball bat. "Now everything is gonna get worse!"

She felt metal grab her wrist. She turned and knocked the third robot down too, but it pulled her with it. She crashed. Rough edges digged into her ribs and in the side of her stomach. The ground scraped her knees through her thin flannel pants.

Grace leapt forward just as one of the robots appeared behind her again. She wrapped her arms around June's waist and kicked at the robot's arm. She grunted something like, "Get off. Get off." She yanked June's hand out of its grasp and they both rolled over onto their backs.

"Could you listen to me for once!?" June shouted.

"Not when you're being stupid!" Her words turned into a shriek as one of the robots stepped over her, a gun pointed at her head.

June jumped off the ground and slammed her baseball bat into the side of its head. It fell away, buckling towards the ground. June helped Grace off of the ground, shaking her head. "I swear to god. This—"

"June!"

She was picked up off the ground. June was held in the arms of two robots. She struggled and kicked. "Hey!" The third one grabbed Grace. She shrieked and June struggled harder. "Let her go! Please!"

And then the sound of wheezing. And June's heart dropped.

"Let her go! Let her go!" June shouted. "Get back to the parking lot, please!"

Grace was sobbing and desperately lunging towards her. "June! No don't!"

And June was shut off.

Grace didn't have to deal with the stress of seeing her best friend knocked out by robots because she too, was shut off. But while June was dragged away to wherever the robots were going, Grace was left in the alleyway.

 **~*O*~**

Parker and Logan had climbed up to the driver's and passenger's seat. So, they had gotten quite the good view of the blue police box appearing in the parking lot. They exchanged quiet looks. Logan pointed at the box. Parker nodded. Logan slumped down in his seat. "She has a _lot_ to tell us."

"Yeah."

And as if it couldn't get more confusing, two people stepped out of the box. A man with cropped hair and a leather jacket and a young blonde girl. The man's attention was pulled to the car immediately. The blonde scanned the parking lot, her face pinched and eyebrow tilted. The man b-lined towards the car, pulling the girl along with him. Parker and Logan exchanged looks.

The man stopped at the passenger side window with an obviously forced and stressed smile. He knocked on the window with his knuckle. Logan rolled it down. "Hello," the man said. His voice was immediately recognizable. "We're looking for—"

"June," Parker interrupted. "You're June's friends.

"Yup," the man—the one June had been shouting at—the Doctor—said. "That's us. Where is she?"

"She went to confront the men in black," Logan said. Parker stared straight ahead. It sounded so much worse than he thought.

"And you just let her go?" the Doctor demanded.

Parker pinched the bridge of his nose. "She made a good argument," he muttered.

Logan frowned and glanced at him. "I thought you didn't say anything because you can't tell her off."

"What—"

That's when they noticed that the two strangers had wandered off. They both scrambled out of the car and raced on after them.

"Do you think she's okay?" the blonde asked.

"I don't know, Rose," the Doctor said. "That's why we're going to go check." When the two boys caught up, the Doctor glanced at them over his shoulder. "I didn't say you two could come."

Parker shrugged. "Too bad."

"So, _now_ you feel bad," the Doctor guessed.

"Doctor," Rose muttered, glaring up at him.

"Do you think I wanted to let her go alone?" Parker argued. "I wanted to protect her as much as she wanted to protect us."

"Yeah!" Logan shouted.

"Shut up, Logan," Parker snapped.

"Dude—"

They stopped in the alleyway. It was dark and almost deserted. Except for Grace, who laid in the dirt, asleep but not peaceful. Parker swore to himself, running his hands through his hair. "Grace!" Logan rushed over to her, kneeling in the ground. He pressed his fingers to her neck. "She still has a pulse." He shook her. "Wake up."

The Doctor and Rose knelt down next to him. Parker began to pace. Grace woke up when the shaking became too much. "What—hey, stop!" She glanced at the two strangers. "Who are you?"

"What happened?" Logan asked.

"What happened to June?" the Doctor asked.

Grace was silent for a moment. Then her face screwed up, her hands flew to cover her eyes. She began to sob. Logan pulled her into some sort of hug and held onto her. The Doctor put his hand on her arm. Grace looked over at him. "What happened?"

Through bubbles of sobs, Grace explained what had happened. The mysterious men in black, the fighting, the baseball bat, and how they had managed to grab her. And all was quiet except for Grace's sobs.

"So, what do we do now?" Parker asked.

The Doctor stood up. "You lot are going home," he said.

Grace shot up. "No way."

"Yes way," he argued. "Rose and I can deal with this. You three go home. I'll bring June back once I have her."

There was protest and arguing and the Doctor was frankly not fazed by any of it. The shouting and anger and bubbles of tears did not get to him. They had no idea what they were really up against. The Doctor had no idea what they were up against in the first place.

"Let them come with us," Rose whispered to him.

The Doctor frowned at her. "You're not serious, right?"

"They're June's friends," she said.

"Doesn't matter. I don't want them to come along and make things all domestic," the Doctor said.

"They won't stay forever," Rose said. "Just let them come along so they can make sure June's alright. Do it for her."

"Hold on," Grace said. She sniffled up her tears. "You're assuming we need permission to come along. We're coming along no matter what. You may be her friends but we were here first."

"Technically, I was here first," Parker muttered.

"So where are we going?"

The Doctor and Rose glanced at each other. Rose smiled. The Doctor did not. He looked back at the three strangers he had probably heard so much about. He didn't remember. He rolled his eyes. And for some reason, without much arguing, he sighed and said, "Alright, follow me."

* * *

 **So, I'm not dead. Been busy. I am a high school senior after all.**

 **That was the introduction to June's friends! I hope you liked them.**

 **I'm not exactly proud of this chapter, but I hope you guys liked it.**

 **Don't forget to review, follow, and** **favorite**

 **Until next time,**

 **\- C.C.**


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